Dimensions and Time, A Take a Stand Spin-Off
by CrystalWolfMaster
Summary: It's been one month since Team Ceartais' battle with Doom and the team and their families are in shambles, and none are feeling more hurt and isolated then Robyn Wilde. The hybrid hero has turned to her mirror powers for comfert. But when a mysterious incident sends Robyn and a small group on a new adventure, they will need to overcome their differences or risk never getting home.
1. Prologue: Sad Reflections

AN: Hello everyone, this is a sequel/spinoff of Crewefox's Take a Stand series of Zootopia fanfics done with his blessing. It is recommended that you read all three entries prior to reading this one so you know who people are and what is going on here. This story takes place one month after the events of The Broken Mirror. Here's a quick run down of the main cast and their creators:

Judy and Nick Wilde, Ages 46 and 54, Chief of Precinct 1 and Mayor of Zootopia respectively. Deputized the superhero group Team Ceartais 6 years ago to help battle a domestic terrorist threat. Are thrilled that they now have 6 grandchildren but are not pleased with the actions 3 of their 4 daughters took on their last mission.

Robyn Wilde-Savage/The Undying Scarlet Age 21, Created by Crewefox: Nick and Judy's youngest daughter and the only survivor of her litter. An experimental procedure with nano machines gifted her with enhanced strength and rapid healing, and contact with a dimensional rift gave her the ability to peer into other realities. Adores her new adopted son but was deeply hurt by the actions of her wife, sister in law and oldest friends during their last mission.

Luna Wilde/Maiden Age 27, Created by Crewefox: Nick's daughter and Judy's step-daughter. A millionaire socialite and gifted surgeon. Abandoned her old hero persona and took up one to honor her late grandmother, though she is still an archer. Vengeance got the better of her during the mission in another dimension and she confronted a foe without telling any of her team, losing her position as second in command as a result.

Kodi Jones/The Mage Age 22, created by helthehatter: The adopted son of retired pop-star Gazelle and her husband Wade. This wolf was Robyn's best friend since kindergarten and followed her when she became a superhero. Initially using tech and trickery, he gained powerful magic while in a dimension filled with superheroes. The new leader of Team Ceartais after Olivia retired.

Clara Bloom/Sirius Age 20: created by Crewefox: A professor of physics at Zootopia Met. This wolf was called in to study a dimensional rift but wound up being kidnapped into it. This resulted in her gained electricity absorbing and distributing powers that allow her to fly, temporarily turn intangible and shoot energy blasts from her first new member of Ceartais in 5 years.

Aaron Wilde Age 4, created by Crewefox: This little koala was an orphan who gained powers from the same rift as Robyn. When Robyn and her wife went to check on rumors of his powers they wound up deeply bonding and adopted him. Has telekinetic abilities, and can read minds and share his vision via holding hands.

Hannah Wilde-Savage/Bullet Age 21, created by Crewefox. This striped hybrid is the daughter of Jack and Skye Savage and the wife of Robyn. Lost her eyesight in an explosion but gained enhanced senses, lightning fast reflexes and bio electric mapping from the same experiment as her wife.

Alice Wilde/Yueri Age 29, created by Ziegelzeig. A former assassin called Ronin, Alice gave up her life of crime when she fell in love with Luna. Recently gave birth to five healthy babies. Was not happy with her wife's actions in the alternate universe but realizes her response may have ripped the team apart.

Olivia Dawson Age 27: created by Crewefox, based on The Great Mouse Detective character. An engineer and CEO of Dawson tech, a massive pharmaceutical company. Retired from hero work and rekindled her relationship with her Ex boyfriend Blake.

Kion Priderock/Roar Age 24: created by Crewefox, based on The Lion Guard character. This lion joined Ceartais as a means of searching for his lost sister after he was put through an illegal experiment. Left the team in the fallout of Luna's actions and due to wanting a normal life.

Belle/Spitfire: created by Crewefox. An artificial intelligence initially created to help operate the team's vehicles, but became the tech support following Marian Wilde's death. Was modified to pilot the Spitfire mech after Olivia retired.

**Prologue: Sad Reflections**

There are some scenes that, when viewed without context, would baffle an onlooker. The home of the Wilde-Savage family was presently host to one such scene.

Robyn Wilde-Savage was sitting in front of a large mirror at her desk with her phone in her hand, but rather then looking at the screen she had it turned towards the mirror. As if that wasn't strange enough the image in the mirror wasn't Robyn's reflection, but a pale skinned mammal with no fur anywhere but her head. It was Robyn's human counterpart she'd met one month prior when visiting a universe filled with powered heroes and villains. The two women couldn't hear each other, so they were using their phones to record messages and holding them up for each other to see.

Robyn: You've had Luna back for a few weeks, how has that been?

Robbie: It took awhile to accept that it was even real Robyn, I was so sure she was gone forever.

Robyn: Well we heroes do have a way of making miracles happen.

Robbie: Your sister especially, as soon as you get good enough at the whole mirror call thing to page me on demand you are sitting her down with you so I can thank her in person.

Robyn: Of course, sorry we had to dash but duty called.

Robbie: Yeah, at least that time difference thing is gone or I'd have been sitting on this for half a year by now.

Robyn: Clara thinks it was the unstable rifts that were causing the time difference.

Robbie: I'll take her word for it, not like I have easy access to any big fancy science heads.

Robyn: So has Luna met her nephew yet?

Robbie: That's for tomorrow, she's really looking forward to it. Especially after meeting the rest of the family.

Robyn: I wish I was there for that.

Robbie: So do I, if for no other reason then making it easier for my family to believe you guys exist.

Robyn: I bet that was a hard sell.

Robbie: It was, I had to get photos from Coulson to convince Ryan. But enough about me, you've had Aaron for almost a month now, how's your little guy doing?

Robyn: Mostly great, everyone loves him and he's just the sweetest little hero ever.

Robbie: Little hero, that is just too cute!

Robyn: Yeah, Hannah came up with the name after he used his powers to let her see me through his eyes.

Robbie: Oh that must have destroyed her.

Robyn: It did, every time I'm having a bad day he just gives me something to smile about.

Robbie: Every time, it's not even been a month, how often is that?

Robyn's ears went down and her lack of an answer said all that was needed.

Robbie: Robyn you ok?

Robyn: Yeah I'm fine, it's just things are pretty lousy with the team right now, there's only four of us active and everyone's on edge, most days aren't great.

Robbie: So you and Hannah?

Robyn: I'm still mad at her, and the others, I just can't believe she did something so stupid.

Robbie: I can actually, powers or no, Hannah's always had some questionable judgement where her loved ones are concerned.

Neither spoke for a few moments.

Robbie: So what about the others, you can't tell me nothing has happened.

Robyn: We were supposed to start fixing things after the holidays, but so many of us had a crummy time that kind of drained us. I don't think they were expecting our families would be so upset. But they're the ones who messed everything up so they need to fix things.

Robbie: Ouch, that's rough sister.

Robyn: Am I going too far here Robbie? Being so mad at all of them?

Robbie: You know all the details, but I've seen you cry Robyn, if they hurt you bad enough to get that to happen this long after the fact then they did something bad. You haven't said anything that goes over the line back at them right?

Robyn: No

Robbie: Then you've done nothing wrong and it's on them to make things right.

Robyn: But what if they aren't sorry, all of them were acting like what they did was right and only Hannah actually backed down from that.

But before Robyn could get an answer her phone buzzed and she instinctively turned it towards her and looked down.

Alice: Robyn, would it be OK if i dropped by your home today? I want to talk with you in person.

Robyn recovered from the shock of her sister in law's message and looked up while turning her phone around only to see a completely different face looking back at her. If she didn't keep her focus on the image she saw in the mirror then it would quickly slip from her grasp.

The hybrid in front of her was clearly male. He was wearing a lab coat that failed to cover his lanky build. His fur was a bit unkempt and he had a curly tuff between his ears, his fur was ginger like Robyn's but his eyes were a deep chocolate brown. Said eyes were currently locked on Robyn's phone and rapidly reading her message. He looked up at her surprised face and quickly reached for his phone.

_Woah, most of them are just scared of me when i see them but this guys got it together._ Robyn thought of her latest mirror version. He shot his hand out his phone displayed a message.

?: I've seen you a few times in mirrors, you're from another world aren't you?

Robyn, caught off guard by this well versed stranger, could only nod in confirmation. Another message quickly followed.

?: How?

Robyn hesitated, but figured there was no harm in him knowing about her power.

Robyn: I can see other versions of myself in mirrors, I was actually talking with someone else but I lost focus. Sorry.

?: Don't be, I know how strange these things can be, you've been having a rough time with your team too, haven't you?

Robyn: Yes, they did something seriously messed up and were saying it was the right thing, and they did it behind my back!

?: I believe I've found a kindred spirit, much the same happened with me. Its sad that people from another world are better company then your own friends.

The strangers' words reminded Robyn of what caused her distraction in the first place. Alice's text remained unanswered and Robyn wasn't sure what to make of it. When she looked back up her own face greeted her. It was frustratingly easy to lose focus and Robyn knew from experience that trying to find random versions of herself again was a lost cause, she didn't know them well enough to get a lock. Even her human self was challenging to get a hold of.

Deciding to not leave Alice hanging for too long, Robyn remembered Robbie's words and typed out a response.

Robyn: Sure, shoot me a text when your about to get here.

Robyn tucked her phone away before taking one more look at her mirror. She saw another male version of her looking back at her, green eyes wide in surprise. Then his fist slammed into the glass on his side.

_Yeah, that's enough mirror searching for one day._ She chuckled, remembering when she did something similar to him one of the first times she saw Robbie in the mirror. Then her face grew serious as she made her way to the ground floor. _Alright Alice, you want things to improve, then it's on you_.

000

Alice Wilde was a mammal used to having a lot of free time on her hand. When she was an assassin there were often large stretches of time between missions. When she married Luna she had no official job and just had an ewetube channel during the day. She didn't mind though, Alice was great at finding things to do, be they hobbies or going down to the bunker to do something for Team Ceartais. Having a lot of free time also meant she could easily get something in her personal life dealt with if need be, since her schedule was easy to work with.

Now she had kids, five little baby bunnies she loved with all her heart. She was a mother, something she's dreamt of for years. But she suddenly found herself with no free time on her hands. Her babies needed constant attention even with Luna there to help out. And while Alice very much wanted to be there for them constantly, there was no time for anything else she wanted. Like making amends with a certain sister of hers.

Alice had not spoken directly to Robyn since before the Ronin trap incident. She hadn't gotten a chance during the holidays or any of the family dinners, and neither were good settings for a one on one chat. Robyn was still mad at her, at all of them, that much was plain to see. Alice had been certain her actions were the right thing to do when they'd set a trap for her evil twin. Now the still lingering anger from her family and friends combined with the obvious pain Robyn was going through cast so much doubt on that certainty.

Regardless of the rightfulness of her actions; Alice had hurt Robyn and that was something she needed to set right. It was close to a month since it had happened and that was too long for a wound to fester. So with Judy helping Luna with the kids for the afternoon, Alice had come to her sister-in law's home.

_So why am I hesitating now_? Alice asked herself as she stood at the front door. She'd arrived a minute ago and sent Robyn the heads up text, but she hadn't knocked yet. She'd been resolute when she explained what she was going to do with Luna, but now that resolve was wavering. _It's because you don't really know what to expect, and a situation as delicate as this needs a plan._ Alice had a rough idea of what to say, but she didn't know how Robyn would react. The fact that the plans to have things recover after the holidays hadn't occurred yet painted the guilty parties in a bad light.

The image of Robyn's pained face came back to Alice's mind. "Merde," she cursed, she'd come this far and Robyn needed help. Stealing her resolve Alice knocked on the front door. The several seconds of waiting were unbearable even as her ears picked up Robyn's footsteps.

The door opened and Alice got a good look at Robyn. She was good at reading mammals, it came with being an assassin, and Robyn was always easy to read. Robyn's body was very stiff and rigid, her face had a neutral expression that was obviously forced. Straight line mouth, ears pointing up, tail slightly lifted, it all served to show how uncomfortable Robyn was right now. The only notable deviation were her eyes, which were scanning her with curiosity but not outright hostility. It was a look that I'll fitted the normally fiery hybrid.

"Bonjour Robyn," Alice greeted.

"Hey Alice," a few awkward seconds passed before Robyn stepped aside, "Well, come in." Without waiting for a reply she stepped away and headed for the living room. Shutting the door behind her, Alice followed.

Of all the homes owned by her new family, Alice found the home of the old M.M. Gang to be her favorite. Compare to Luna's lavish penthouse, Bunnyburrow's organized chaos, and the more modern homes of their parents, Robyn and Hannah's house had a rustic and well lived in feel that Alice found very charming. The more recent modifications for a small child only helped with that.

The living room had several toys haphazardly thrown on the couches and floor, including Aaron's blue triceratops. Alice smiled as she took a seat. "Little Aaron really loves his new home doesn't he?"

The subject of her son brought a smile to Robyn's lips in spite of herself. "Yeah, it's weird, we've known each other for a little over two months but I already can't imagine life without him." Then the smile faded as she took a seat opposite Alice, "and your babies? I'm surprised you wrestled yourself away from them at all."

"Judy and Luna are watching them, and there were things I needed to do." Alice braced herself.

Robyn let Alice's last statement hang in the air before prompting, "Well, you said we needed to talk, talk."

Alice had considered the best way to start, and had concluded that honesty and briefness was best. "Robyn, I'm sorry."

Robyn raised a single eyebrow before responding, "About what Alice? The list isn't short."

"For hurting you, most of all, and for damaging the team, that's on us not Luna." Alice made sure to meet Robyn's eyes, "none of us ever wanted that and we didn't think our actions through. A lot of what we said in that meeting on the Kestrel, it must have seemed like we didn't care about you two. And I'll admit that getting revenge on Luna was more of a priority than any of us admitted at the time, even to ourselves. You were right, we aren't as different from Luna as we liked to believe."

"As?" Robyn replied, still with a straight face. Alice winced, she was afraid of this.

"We were both motivated by revenge, we both had technically beneficial goals that we used to justify it to ourselves, we both went behind the backs of our teams and sullied their trust in us, we both made excuses at first and we both hurt the people closest to us." Alice was reluctant to continue but she wouldn't get anywhere by lying. "But…"

"And there's the but," Robyn sighed, cutting Alice off. "I'm gonna try and save us some time here Alice. If all you have is the same 'I'm sorry we hurt you yaddi yadda but it was the right thing to do and Alice wasn't in danger' shtick that Hannah was trying to pull, you might as well leave now cause if that didn't work for my freakin wife it won't work for a repeat offender like you."

The description of her stung, but Alice knew this was coming. The danger she was in during the trap was going to be the biggest hurdle with Robyn on a provable facts level. Which was why she had an argument, and an accusation ready.

"Do you honestly believe that I, or any of the others, would've gone through with the plan if we felt there was even a tiny percent of danger to myself or my children?"

"Of course not." Was Robyn's curt reply. "All of you thought you were safe, it's just that you were wrong. It's Ronin Alice, you could've had the whole Avengers team there and you wouldn't be safe."

Alice narrowed her eyes, " I think I know my own capabilities well enough Robyn."

"But by your own admission you were angry enough to have revenge as a main focus, and that was clouding your judgement." Robyn paused just long enough for Alice to open her mouth in retort before continuing, "and if you're saying that you can handle your anger and that something like that wouldn't happen, I have two words for you. Rose. Thorn."

All of the wind came out of Alice's sails. The frustration with Aleks, the rage at Luna being taken, Robyn's annoying persistency and it all exploding in that awful fight on the roof. The fight where she's gone so far over the line that it destroyed her ability to enjoy her killing work afterwards. Where she'd let her anger drive her to torture someone she knew was a teenager. The moment she became the same mammals you had ruined her own life.

_Repeat Offender._ It was a miracle Robyn forgave her for that alone.

"And on top of that you have a, what did she call it?" Robyn tilted her head trying to remember. "Neutered, you have a neutered view of how dangerous you are."

"Who is this 'she' with this view of me?" Alice asked with curiosity.

"Kiara." Robyn's reply made Alice's eyes widen.

_That's unexpected._ "Why were you two talking about this, and when." Alice probed.

"She was my old babysitter remember, she came to check on Olivia and me after she had a row with Kion."

That checked out. Alice knew she had been the newcomer to the social circle before Clara showed up, but she sometimes forgot how far back it went.

"Anyway, because you know your limitations and how vulnerable you are, you have a dulled view of how dangerous you really are." Robyn met Alice's gaze again, "and this was a version of you who was from a world of superheroes and lacked a code, so she was even more lethal."

"She was an emotional wreck and we took a lot of safety precautions!"

"One of which was a man who tried to kill you two weeks ago and let Ronin lose, all that prep and it still came down to you having to defend yourself." Robyn countered.

Alice prepared a retort but held herself back, this wasn't accomplishing anything. "Maybe we didn't think everything all the way through, but I promise Robyn we were acting in the interest of getting everybody home. Including my children. But we only had a small window to do it. Yes revenge was a big priority, but it wasn't the only one."

"Bullshit," Robyn stated with force.

"It's the truth!"

"If you honestly think Ronin, or anyone who really loved their mate, would be over their mate's death in the time it would've taken to call SHIELD, the Avengers or anyone else we needed and put a trap together then you have a low opinion of love." Robyn was snarling now, "You weren't on a ticking clock because of Ronin, you were on the clock because you could only keep Luna in the dark for so long! Between the option that pooled all our resources and the one that let you get back at Luna, you chose revenge and you didn't care who you hurt in the process! And all you do is KEEP MAKING EXCUSES!" Robyn finally paused to catch her breath and looked at Alice. "Nothing about what you did was right, nothing."

Alice sat in stunned silence. The combination of raw emotion and hard facts from Robyn made the hybrid seem like an impenetrable wall. Alice found she couldn't form a good argument, she wasn't even sure she wanted to. "We got the second key, doesn't that count for anything?" Alice saw the obvious flaw in her plea before it even left her mouth, and sure enough Robyn pounced on it.

"Luna got Andi and Ronin to come to us, after...how many times did they get away again? Whatever, she got the first key and set up the second ones capture. She saved her human self, something everyone else, including human ME said was impossible. Did any of that matter to you four?"

"No." Alice simply replied.

"So should your actions, which only did a third of the good and who knows how much bad, count for you?"

"No." Alice repeated.

"Right, and if you need more proof that you put selfish needs over what's right, look at Heather."

"What does my daughter have to do with this?" Alice asked, surprised by the change in topics.

"Her middle name is Kamala, Ms. Marvel's real name right?" At Alice's shocked look Robyn snorted, "I'm not stupid Alice, there was no one else it could be."

"Yes, it's Ms. Marvel's name," Alice confessed.

"And despite the fact that Ms. Marvel made it clear that she valued her secret identity you saw fit to hack her phone to get her name."

"I wanted to name one of my children for her after all she did for us!" Alice knew she played right into Robyn's argument.

"And you did something wrong in pursuit of a selfish goal, while in the middle of your trap no less."

Alice wanted to yell back, but she couldn't. Robyn had no faults in her argument. Alice began to wonder if Heather would serve as a permanent reminder of this awful time.

"Well, at least you actually admit you didn't think your plan through," Robyn said as she flopped back into the cushion. She said nothing else.

"I hate this," Alice muttered.

"Again Alice, that's too vague."

"Everything!" Alice shouted. "What Luna did, what we did, seeing you like this, this should be one of the happiest times of our lives and instead everyone feels like they're walking on glass shards. I just want things to improve, but it's been almost a month and everyone is stagnating. I want things to get better than that."

"Honestly, I think some stuff will," Robyn replied catching Alice off guard with the glimpse of optimism, "but some stuff can't go back to the way they were, not after this." She shook her head, "I don't know if Kion and I can patch things up after all he's done, and no matter how much I love her, I'm never gonna be able to completely trust Hannah again," _sniff, "_guess it's fitting that her middle name is Marian." Any idiot could see that Robyn was holding back tears at this point.

Alice's voice was very meek as she asked "and us?"

Robyn's face went through a gauntlet of emotions in the 20 seconds it took to respond. Hurt, anger, resolve but it always came back to confusion. Twice she looked ready to speak only to slip back into sideways glances and uncertainty. Alice genuinely couldn't get a read on her. Then Robyn's face hardened, her brow creased, a deep frown appeared and Alice was certain her worst fears would be realized. Then Robyn's eyes widened and she just deflated. She slumped back into her seat.

"I don't know," was what she finally said.

"Too much…" Alice started.

"Yes it's too much!" Robyn shouted without getting back up. Her voice grew drained and tired. "Part of me wants to just walk over and hug you and say we'll work it out, the other wants to use that as a cover for sucker punching you in the face."

Alice walked over to Robyn and sat down next to her. She carefully put a hand on one of Robyn's, "Whatever your choice is, I'll respect it," Alice said with a sad sincerity.

Robyn only gave her a half look in response. "I forgave you for the Rose Thorn and everything else years ago Alice, but that hurt a lot less than this does. I don't know if I have it in me to forgive you a second time." Those words were devoid accusation despite their contents. There was a finality to them that told Alice the conversation was over

"I think we've accomplished everything we're going to today, I should leave." Alice said as she got up and started to walk away.

Alice heard Robyn's weak laugh in response, "You got something out of all of that?" Without looking back, Alice nodded. "Well...good, I'm glad one of us managed that." Alice's ears popped up at that, what could've easily sounded spiteful instead sounded genuine, like Robyn was legitimately happy for her.

Alice reached the door before speaking again. "I'll see you next Sunday." Alice barely managed to close the door before her poker face dissolved and her own tears matched Robyn's. She may well have burned a bridge forever with her actions, but her nod had been genuine. Alice actually had reason to be hopeful despite the dour tone of a lot of the meeting.

_Repeat offender_, Alice though, _and yet she was in so much turmoil over if she should forgive me. She sounded so much like she wanted to just walk over and hug me and cry it out together. If I'm giving her this much conflict on the subject, then surely Hannah, Kodi and...well Kion has his own separate baggage with her, but surely those two would be forgiven if they just reached the same place that i am_. Alice wiped her tears, called a zuber, and began sending out three text messages to organize a meeting.

_We can still fix this for at least some of them, they just have to be willing to take the first step._

000

_I forgave you for the Rose Thorn and everything else years ago Alice, but that hurt much less than this does. I don't know if I have it in me to forgive you a second time._

Those words played over and over as Robyn cried at her desk. Robyn had cried more in the past month then at any other point in her life and at this point she was past hating herself for it. It was just how she felt and how she felt was terrible. Both for saying something so cruel when she was truly uncertain, and for how true to herself those words had been. Still, Alice seemed like she got something out of it so that was...good.

Robyn pulled out her phone to check the time and saw that she had less than a half hour left before Hannah and Aaron got home. _Can't let them see me like this._ But all thoughts of getting herself cleaned up were put on hold when she looked up and found yet another alternate version of herself in the mirror. She normally would've just looked away but this one was unique even by her visions standards.

It was his uniform that stood out, and not just because that was all there was to see. It looked like someone had combined the Undying Scarlet outfit with a police swat uniform. White, Red and Crimson were still the main colors but they were distributed differently The pants undershirt were white. The kneepads, boots, helmet, gloves, belt and everything attached to said belt were crimson. It was only the vest and the scarf covering his mouth that were a slightly brighter red. A pair of tactical goggles covered his eyes. Houlstered on his right leg was what looked like a bigger version of Hannah's stun pistols. There was noticeably less gear then there was on the swat uniforms she'd seen in her time, but she still spotted some grenades on his belt.

While Robyn was taking in the strange uniform, the strange hybrid was stepping away from the mirror on his end. He leaned in curiously but with caution. Robyn reached for her phone and activated the recording function.

"Sorry to drop in like that, power tends to kick in when I'm upset" she spoke and the words appeared on her screen. While she could type her messages, that made it easier to get distracted so talk recording them was the better bet. Thank goodness the technology had improved from what her parents described it as when it was first introduced. She held up her message.

The stranger regarded her message before reaching for his own phone and typing a reply.

?: Power?

Robyn: I see other versions of myself in the multiverse in mirrors.

?: Other versions?

Rather then type a reply Robyn quickly slashed her face hard enough to draw blood, the stranger jumped back in surprise before her healing kicked in and the wound faded. The hastily typed reply conveyed his shock.

?: You're like me?

Robyn: Yeah, super strength too though my uniforms a bit different. Sorry don't feel like ripping my house up for a demonstration.

Robyn's attempt at humor was accompanied by wiping some more tears lingering in her eyes.

?: That's alright, but what has you in such a state?

Robyn: Had a bit of a fight with my sister

The stranger took a seat on his end.

?: Do you want to talk about it?

Robyn: You'd be OK with that?

In response the stranger pulled off his helmet and let his long ears come forth, then the goggles came off and a familiar color greeted Robyn. _He's got Mom's eyes._ For they were indeed a brilliant amethyst. Finally the cloth was pulled down to show a kind smile graced his features. Rather than type, he started using the voice recorder like Robyn did.

?: that answer your question?

Unfortunately the conversation only was cut short by the sound of a front door opening. "Mom we're home!" Aaron's call made Robyn's face light up.

Robyn: Sorry my wife and son just got home, gotta go

?: Oh you're married, well it's just a girlfriend on my end but she will be home from the relief center soon, will i see you again?

Robyn: you just might, the outfits pretty memorable, and thank you for taking the time to talk, short as it was.

Robyn lost focus as Aaron entered the room and gave his mom a tight hug, Hannah followed close behind with a nervous look that had become common these days. Robyn put a happy mask on and went to greet her family. As she did the words of the lab coat wearing hybrid came back to her: _It's sad when people from another world are better company then your own friends and family._ She wouldn't say they were better company, but there certainly were no negative emotions attached to the other versions she met in the mirrors.

000

It was only later that night when Robyn was reflecting on the days events that she realized something. She sat up in bed in consideration.

"Robyn, is something wrong?" Hannah asked from her position next to her

"Ever since that vampire house, when i've seen other me's in the mirrors, I've been able to tell their names, but that didn't happen today."

"That's odd, maybe run it by Clara when you go on patrol tomorrow?" Hannah suggested.

"Good idea, sorry to wake you." Robyn lay back down, but couldn't shake the feeling that something more was going on. For now she took comfort in snuggling next to her wife. Even if things didn't ever recover all the way, she would always love Hannah.

AN: So that concludes the Prologue of Dimensions and Time, reviews and feedback would be greatly appreciated. Next time: Some bad memories are unearthed, Alice takes the initiative and something strange occurs and Robyn and Kodi's auto shop.


	2. Chapter 1: Wounds

Welcome to the next chapter of Dimensions and Time, and thank you to everyone read, reviewed, followed or favorited. It's time for the story to kick into gear, so let's get rolling!

**Chapter 1: Wounds **

The old saying goes that time heals all wounds. It was meant to be a comforting thought to show that no damage was irreparable, and it was a saying that The Undying Scarlet was ready to call total bullshit. Physical wounds would, in general, heal or at least mend with enough time, but emotional damage and trauma could often last a lifetime.

_Six years later and we're still finding bodies_, the masked hero bitterly thought as she did a final sweep of the ruined building. It was one of countless of its kind destroyed in the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Zootopia years back. For all her father's efforts there were still sections of the city that looked like a war zone. The sound of sirens told Scarlet that it was time to end her search, so she carefully lined herself up with a hole in the wall and jumped out.

Outside a young female lioness with a camera was being comforted by a golden furred wolf who was wearing what could almost be mistaken for a swimsuit. Sirius was the newest member of Team Ceartais and had proven quite popular with her amazing powers, gorgeous looks and yes, very body positive outfit. She was also popular with her teammates for her high energy, being easy to talk to and for being the only one unattached to the current team sunderring drama. Scarlet gave a small smile seeing her newest team mate calm the lioness down.

Scarlet looked to see what officers had answered the call and winced a little when she saw Benjamin Clawhauser and Nala Priderock emerge. The two veteran cops walked over to Scarlet before Ben spoke up. "So you said we had a civilian finding a dead body in this house Scarlet?"

"Yeah, we were patrolling when we heard her scream and came over. She's a film student and was getting some recent footage for a documentary on the Wave when she found the skeleton in the basement."

"A skeleton!?" Nala exclaimed, "poor mammal must've died in the wave."

"Clean up crews couldn't find everyone," Benjamin noted, "have you confirmed the bodies location?"

The house was for larger mammals like the lioness, so a fox sized mammal like Scarlet could walk around without much risk if they were careful. "It's in the basement directly on the left side of the staircase." Scarlet nodded to the two officers, "You guys got it from here?"

"Yup, we'll make sure that girl is alright," Ben stated before walking over to join Clara by the lioness.

Nala had a forlorn expression as she and Scarlet stayed by the house. "Six years ago I was helping with recovery efforts the night the wave hit, I hoped I'd seen the last of it," she shook her head side to side, "guess I should've known better."

"To think, if Bullet's phone wasn't waterproof she and I could've been just like that poor guy." Scarlet shuddered at the memory of how close she came to dying.

"How are you and Bullet doing these days?"

Scarlet let out a breath, _Looks like we won't be avoiding this tar pit after all._ "Not great. We haven't had any fights but there are days when it feels like things are never gonna get better.."

Nala nodded in sympathy, "Have you guys talked much about what happened?"

"I know she regrets what they did, she's admitted that what they did was wrong."

"Certainly gives her the edge over Roar, for what it's worth the rest of my family and I agree with you and Roar knows it."

Scarlet nodded already knowing Jasari wasn't pleased with Kion and the rest were even worse, "Thanks but I'd rather they not have done it then have to be so mad at all of them."

Nala saw Sirius walking over to them and decided to wrap it up. "We all would but that's not the hand they dealt us. Just stay resolute and they'll come around eventual."

"Yeah...eventually." Robyn hated this talk, it was always the same thing every time. Whether it was with her parents, Hannah's parents, Olivia or Kiara. All the reassurances just served to remind her that her wife, sister, and best friends had done something completely messed up and nearly destroyed the team in the process.

That was the other reason Scarlet didn't like the time heals all wounds saying; the attempt at comfort failed because it didn't account for pain someone was going through at the moment. Maybe Hannah, Kodi, Alice and Kion would eventually realize they'd done wrong and try to make amends, but that wouldn't make all the hurt in Robyn's heart any less right now.

Alice's tearful face flashed in Scarlet's mind, reminding her of their talk a few days prior.

It also didn't mean Robyn could find it in her to forgive some of them.

With those sad thoughts in mind Scarlet followed Sirius into the sky to resume their patrol.

000

The ding of the elevator door opening shook Kodi Jones out of his tired stupor. The ride up to Luna's penthouse gave the wolf plenty of time to nod off; especially for how early in the morning it was. Alice had sent text messages to Hannah, Kion and Kodi several days ago asking when a good time for them to meet up was. Much to Kodi's annoyance that time wound up being in the early morning before three of them had to go to work.

Kodi left out a tired sigh, he knew there was only one reason that Alice would call a meeting and he was not looking forward to it. But it definitely needed to happen so Kodi stepped out of the elevator and into the expensive house.

"Morning Kodi," Kion greeted his old friend, "the others are already here."

"Good to see you big guy," Kodi's ears picked up soft cooing from another room, "Are they with the babies?"

"Yeah, they're being tucked in." Kion spoke without enthusiasm. He then turned and lead Kodi into the living room area. "They've got some coffee if you need it."

"Definitely gonna need it," Kodi muttered as we went to pour himself a cup.

"Morning guys," The two turned to see Hannah join them with a tired looking Alice and Luna followed them to the doorway.

"You two look beat." Kodi notes from his place in the kitchen.

Luna just gave a dull glare but Alice replied, "the babies can give us very erratic sleep schedule, and Luna just came off a shift at the hospital," Alice let out a sigh but had a small smile, "the joys of parenthood."

"Absolutely," Kion agreed.

Alice then indicated a couple of coaches around a coffee table and the four mammals took their seats while Luna went to the kitchen.

Once everyone was seated Alice's face grew serious. "It's been a month since we set the trap for my human counterpart," Alice confirmed what the others already knew this meeting was about. Kodi kept a straight face but noticed Hannah looked sad and a slight frown forming on Kion's face. "I think it's safe to say we didn't think the repercussions of our actions through at the time."

"Cut the fancy wording Alice," Hannah bitterly remarked, "Almost everyone is still mad at us and no one is defending us." She looked at the gathered mammals, "Unless I'm forgetting someone?"

"Can't think of anyone," Kion remarked sadly. Jasari had told her boyfriend that she understood why he did what he did, but that she wouldn't defend him from anyone who was cross with him over it.

Kodi sighed, "Nope, Clara isn't hostile or anything, but I think she's just trying to keep the team together. Can't really blame her, she joins the team and before you blink it's down to four members, and Robyn and I aren't doing patrols together and we aren't sending her out with Bella since she's still a novice."

"How are you and Robyn managing your shop?" Kion asked in a worried tone.

Kodi explained pragmatically, "We've declared that work is a neutral ground, no personal matters or team stuff gets brought up there even in the offices. Robyn...gets along with me fine while we're there, but we haven't hung out outside of work in a while."

"Honestly, outside of when she's with Aaron, when is the last time any of you saw Robyn happy?" Luna asked while leaning against a doorway.

No one answered because they all knew the answer, it was before the Ronin trap.

Alice finally broke the silence, "That actually is the reason I called this meeting, the day I sent the call out I went to talk with Robyn."

That got looks of concern. "I could smell the tears in Robyn's eyes that day," Hannah realized.

"I'm guessing it didn't go well?" Kion asked.

"Better than you'd think actually," Alice announced to several surprised looks, "but before we get into that we have one more guest arriving." _That _definitely got their attention, the amount of people who knew of Ceartais, would be invited and fit the situation was, well zero. "And I believe he's arriving now, mon amor?"

Before that latest bombshell could even sink in the elevator dinged again and everyone turned as a torch key raccoon emerged. He was casually dressed in a sweater and jeans. His eyes immediately locked onto the resident vixen as he said "Good morning Luna, you have everyone assembled?"

"Yes, everyone this is Doctor Thrash, he's my therapist, when I mentioned this meeting to him he suggested I invite him to oversee it," Luna explained, "he's known about all of this for years." Luna swung her arm across the assembled mammals, "Thrash this is Hannah Wilde-Savage, Kion Priderock, Kodi Jones and Alice Wilde."

"It is nice to finally meet all of you, and to immediately address the elephant in the room, I've known about Ceartais since before the wave and if i was going to break patient client confidentiality I would've done so by now." Thrash decided to snipe the most pressing concern.

"Are you saying the four of us need therapy?" Kodi asked.

"No Kodi we are not," Thrash declared, "but you are dealing with an emotionally complex and volatile situation, so I figured somewhat who is a trained and experienced expert in dealing with said situations might be of use here. Think of this as my way of giving back to the team who has saved me and many of my patients at least twice."

Hannah was smiling, "You can ask any touchy questions rather than us asking each other?"

"Correct Hannah, my role here is as a distant third party." Thrash had a pleased look on his face, happy that Hannah had picked up in that so quickly.

Kion was not smiling, but he did nod in approval, "Honestly? Most of us aren't really used to dealing with emotionally heavy stuff like this, why not have him around? It isn't like we've made much headway by ourselves."

"Yeah," Kodi relented, upset that has proposal that the team start mending fences after the holidays had gone unfulfilled. Waiting that long had allowed things to stagnate.

Thrash took a seat at the head of the table with Luna, Alice, Kodi, Hannah and Kion completing the oval in a clockwise direction. Alice picked up where she left off and informed everyone of her meeting with Robyn a few days back. As the sad recount progressed Thrash took note of how everyone reacted.

Hannah was easy to read, she looked sad throughout the whole affair. Kion mostly kept a straight face but did get wide eyed and open mouthed when Kiara's small role was mentioned, as well as Robyn brutally ripping apart the four's reason for needing to move quickly. Luna just kept a slight scowl on her face as she observed her teammates throughout the recount. Kodi had the most varied reaction, he certainly looked upset in places like Robyn's uncertainty on forgiving Alice, but his face grew annoyed in others like her insistence on the danger Alice had been in.

Alice finished her story and let the end results sink in, no one said a word for a few moments. Then a tearful Hannah broke the silence. "Alice, I wish I never went along with your stupid plan."

"Je suis désolé Hannah." Was all Alice could say.

Kodi was frustrated, "Well either I'm missing something or you're a bigger optimist then I thought Alice cause I don't see how any of that went well."

Kion turned to his friend, "It's because Alice…"

"Actually Kion, I'd like to hear Kodi's point of view before the rest of you provide your takes." Thrash spoke up. Kion seemed surprised, but backed off. Kodi looked uncomfortable with all the attention on him but composed himself quickly.

"Look it's just, this whole thing is really starting to bug me, all of us are getting the cold shoulder like us being the reason we got home in time to stop Doom mattered for squat, especially to Robyn" Kodi looked at his feet, "l know not everything we did was ideal, but am I the only one who feels like the good we did should count for something at least?"

"It's not like any of us gave Luna slack for the good she did, or the credit." Alice lamented. Kodi grew more frustrated but Trash spoke up first.

"I believe one issue you are having is a matter of perspective, to the people angry with you the crimes are the same, so they mostly group you four as one guilty party. At most they signal Alice out as the leader or Kion for his comments during the meeting after." Thrash saw he had their attention. "But you know your motivations were varied to an extant, as was the extent to which vengeance was a priority. The accusations take the worst offending example and hold the whole group to it since you did operate as one."

"That...makes a lot of sense," Luna noted, "Mom and Dad and the most angry with Alice but they mostly treat the whole group the same."

Thrash quickly resumed, "And I imagine that's especially frustrating for the one mammal in the group who disagrees with the sentiment that the bad outweighs the good, Kodi?"

Kodi seemed surprised that Trash had swung things back around to him but spoke up nonetheless, "It's just, I feel like we're stuck in this loop of the four of us being the bad guy, that we aren't going to get anywhere unless we admit that _everything _we did was wrong, and I don't see it that way. It was never about getting even with Luna for me, yeah it was nice to show how to do it right, but I wanted to get those mammals home." Kodi looked over to Luna and spoke in a softer voice, "Luna, I won't pretend things are fine between us but I'm honestly not mad anymore, you got your punishment and its not like the good you did before that suddenly didn't happen, and it feels like I'm the only one who wants things to get better."

Luna was honestly touched by Kodi's statement but she focused on the issue at hand, "Kodi, it's easy for you to say that, but Robyn and Olivia had four people betray their trust rather than just one, and most of the people who are mad at us have actually lost children or at least family so willingly putting Alice in danger isn't just a matter of principle with them."

"But she wasn't really in danger, I was there for goodness sakes!"

"Actually have children and try accepting that Kodi." Kion spoke up, earning a startled look from Kodi. "I'm sorry Kodi, but I do see where they are coming from, that said I am finding the vilification of us to be...frustrating as well."

Thrash chose that moment to speak up again "I believe Kion's frustration comes from two primary sources, the latter of which can be applied to the whole group to an extant."

"And those two sources would be?" Kion wasn't thrilled with the psyche treatment but he was curious.

"The first is a matter of unfamiliar territory, you simply aren't used to being 'the bad guy'," Thrash explained. "From what I understand, you have never had a situation where you were a major target of social scorn over some transgression, unlike everyone else in this room. Alice and Luna are obvious, Kodi had a player lifestyle that landed him in trouble quite often and I understand that this isn't the first time Hannah has done something rash on an emotional high."

The others processed Thrash's latest observation and attempted to fill in the gaps, but none of them could think of a time where the resident nice guy of the group had been under any level of disdain. The closest was when Ceartais had been unmasked and even then the hate was mostly focused on Marian, Robin Senior and Luna. "So the novelty of it all is part of the frustration?" Luna asked, impressed as always by Trash's ability to get to the heart of the problem.

"More like being in unfamiliar waters, the others at least have had some experience being under the microscope of social wrongdoing before." Thrash clarified. "Maybe talking with some of the others here might give you some pointers for how to mend fences, assuming you are interested in doing so."

Kion looked a bit offended at the suggestion that he wanted some bridges to stay burned, but he reeled his emotions in, "Alright doctor, good advice, so what's this other reason you mentioned?"

"This applies to all of you," Thrash looked around at the mammal aside from Luna, "You were acting from sympathetic standpoints; anger at Luna's betrayal of trust and risk to herself, a desire to secure a means of getting back home, and wanting to leave the team in Kion's case. No one would fault any of you for holding these feelings as they are all well within reason, but when you acted on those feelings you created a situation that squandered that initial goodwill." Thash turned to face Kion before continuing, "You wanted to leave the team and that's fine, but dropping the news in the middle of a heated argument was like throwing a torch in an oil spill, trying to pass you quitting off as any form of punishment showed a lack of empathy to your team leaders distress, and doing so right after doing something else the others saw as wrong prevented any good will from forthcoming."

"And acting like a pretty big douchebag to Robyn and Olivia in the process didn't help with that last point." Hannah chimed in.

Kion processed what he'd been told, he'd had similar talks with Jasari and his family, but those were more focused on calling him out. Thrash was cutting to the core of the issue, "So you're saying I'm frustrated with myself for messing up an easy exit?"

"Not necessarily yourself, just that something that should be sympathetic for you turned out the opposite, and that applies to all of you." Thrash gestured to his regular patient, "Luna knew she was operating from a questionable place from the start, so she's had an easier time dealing with the consequences."

"So we know why some of us are getting annoyed with all of this, how do we fix it now?" Kodi wanted to move onto something he saw as productive.

"First you need to come to terms with the fact that you aren't the good guys in this situation, at best what you did was questionable, and if you try to hold onto that notion you won't get anywhere," Thrash let that hard reality hang for a moment. " Alice is on the right track; you need to talk with the people who are mad with you, bridge the gap so to speak. You need to show you are both want and are willing to put in the effort to repair the damage, especially since you are the guilty parties." Thrash easily shifted to the new line of talk.

"I know I should be doing that more," Hannah said in a small voice, "but I'm terrified that I'm gonna mess it up and the relationship will never get back to where it was."

"It likely won't ever get back to where it was Hannah," Trash spoke a hard truth, "You can make all the promises you want but you have proven that you are willing to go behind your wife's back, and that trust barrier can't really be mended."

Luna picked up on Thrash's thread, "Hannah, your relationship is different from mine and Alice's, or my parents for that matter. All of us built our relationship on overcoming distrust and internal opposition, you and Robyn were friends from the start and never really wavered from that. Then you hurt her worse than anyone else ever has," Luna recalled Robyn's state after her second fight with Alice when she said those words, "the kind of simple, pure trust Robyn could place in you is gone forever." Hannah predictable wept at that remark.

"BUT!" Thrash spoke loudly, "that doesn't mean things can't heal between you two. Marian Wilde ruined Robin Wilde's retired life and put him on the run and they were still able to be completely in love till the very end after all."

Luna gave a reassuring smile, "Love and trust are two seperate things after all."

Alice spoke up for the first time in awhile, "Hannah, Robyn will love you no matter what happens, yes you've lost what you had, but you can still get something very close to that but you need to put the effort in." Alice turned to Thrash, "As Kodi failed to notice back at the start of this, Robyn was so torn up on whether or not to forgive me and I'm the one she's most angry with."

Kodi was annoyed at getting singled out but was hooked on Alice's statement. Thrash kept the beats coming, "Emotions are not always logical, but it stands to reason that if Robyn was so close to forgiving Alice then Kion, Kodi and especially Hannah stand a good chance to repair the relationship, but you need to take the first steps."

Hannah steeled her voice before saying, "We owe her that much, I'm gonna talk with Robyn tonight."

Kion looked awkward, "I made things even worse than it needed to be with Robyn. When Kiara went and visited Robyn, it was probably right after she gave me an earful for being mad at Robyn for going too easy on Luna when I did the same thing with my sister." He shook his head, "I'll start small, maybe seeing her when I pick up Mufasa when he's hanging out with Aaron."

Kodi looked awkward, but remembered he was team leader now and put some steel in his voice, "I don't know how well it will go, but I said we needed to fix this and so far we've been failing miserably, I'll talk to Robyn after work today, at least Hannah will probably look better than me."

000

Routines are the kind of thing that can be anything from comfortable to miserable depending on what they contain. Robyn usually found the routine of working in The Arrow Garage to be relaxing and fulfilling, with the nature of different repair jobs providing a nice bit of variety. That changed after the mission to save the powered mammals from Doctor Doom.

The new routine consisted of keeping up a facade of the old routine for the sake of her employees and business. She and Kodi had called the auto shop a neutral ground where anything related to Ceartais was dropped. The two had managed to keep up a visage or normalcy by keeping the conversation topics to trivial nothings. Sports games, new movies, anything that didn't actually matter much at all was what they talked about.

The only personal topics that came up were Aaron and Clara, and thankfully the novelty of both kept their employees from noticing that they were all they talked about from their personal lives. Everyone was thrilled Kodi had finally found himself a girlfriend, especially after she unexpectedly dropped in one day to deliver lunch and left her boyfriend flustered in front of his staff. Robyn did not have to feign joy when talking about her son, and she knew that Kodi's happiness for her was not feigned either.

Despite all of that, the feeling of walking on eggshells had turned the work day from relaxing to stressful. The worst part was that there was no good excuse to ignore Hannah's radio show when she took her lunch break. She'd listened to her wife speak every time she came on for years and not doing so would clue her co-workers in that something was wrong. So every day she listened and heard Hannah's voice, and she could hear that some of the joy had left it. It was another reminder of how her teammate's actions had affected every part of her life.

Things had only gotten worse for Robyn since her talk with Alice, it was getting harder and harder for her to keep the distress off her face. This also meant she was seeing versions of herself in various car mirrors on a regular basis. It reminded her at times of the hall of mirrors in the vampire house, and not just because the mammal who saved her, Jay-Tee, appeared again. She was at least happy to mouth a quick 'thanks for the save' when he showed up. She also caught glimpses of the lab coat wearing male she'd briefly spoken to, but being at work there was never a good time to speak with any of them.

Today though, Robyn had a reason to be happy. Aaron had asked to see what her shop looked like and Judy was going to bring him over after she picked him up from school that day. So Robyn was happily fixing a stand on a mirror to a large mammal's car when Kodi spoke up, "Robyn we need to talk."

Robyn looked around and saw the rest of her crew had already left for the day, likely seen out by Kodi. "You sure?" She really didn't want to have this talk again.

"I've already put a silence spell around the shop, I'm serious." Kodi put his foot down.

"Fine, you wanna talk, start talking." Robyn prompted without moving from her spot on the truck.

"Robyn we've been best friends since we were kids and now we're barely talking to each other, I'm not OK with this."

"Whose fault is it that we're in this mess?"

"Mine and the others I know, I know we hurt you and I am so sorry about that, I know we did was hypocritical and that we ripped the team to pieces and we can't blame Luna for that one." Kodi paused to catch his breath, "I hate seeing you so torn up and I just want things to get better and they won't if you keep cold walling everyone."

Robyn heard Kodi's plea and it was the same thing she wanted, but she felt she needed to push her friends apology to the limits. "Three out of five."

'What?"

"You apologized for three of the five things you guys did that day, you haven't mentioned putting Alice in danger or everything you guys said and did at the meeting afterwards." Robyn listed off. "You said you were ok with being suspended because you knew you did the right thing, which means that ripping the group apart, including our friendship, was right according to you."

Kodi reeled from Robyn's cold remark and the implications of his words being thrown back at him, but he did his best to recover, "I know our plan wasn't the best one and I don't stand by much of what we said in the Kestral but…"

"And there's the but."

"I'm sorry about all of that I really am, but I have to be honest here. I think you and everyone else is overblowing how much danger Alice was in." Kodi knew this would be a big hurdle but he hoped Robyn would see his point of view.

Robyn looked offended, "Are you serious? It was Ronin!"

Kodi's braced himself, "And I think the Rose Thorn incident is making you overblow how big a threat she is, I trained for a year in the mystic arts, I am more powerful than she could ever be and I was with Alice the whole time!"

"Didn't Strange lose to that Mary psycho?" Robyn countered, knocking the confidence from Kodi's face, "Well I appreciate the honesty, if you have nothing else we're done here." Robyn turned back to the mirror.

Kodi couldn't believe it, he'd poured his heart out and apologized in guilt for all but one aspect but he still got walled by Robyn. "If that's how you feel then why did you vote for me as the new leader?" He hoped he could find something to latch onto.

Robyn finally looked at her old friend, "That's...a really good question, honestly I think I was just going along with Olivia and didn't put much thought into it," her gaze hardened, "I wouldn't vote for you now."

Part of Kodi wanted to be angry but he forced it down, knowing how badly Robyn was hurt. He had one last card to play. "Robyn, when you and Hannah abandoned your posts and got Clara and Zoe kidnapped I forgave you two. It wasn't because I wasn't upset, but because you two mean that much to me, I could never stay mad at you two after everything we've been through together." He knew this was guilt tripping but he was desperate, "you don't feel the same way?"

Robyn looked down at the ground and didn't answer right away, when she did her voice had lost its edge and just sounded hollow, "Maybe if you had held us accountable Hannah wouldn't have been so quick to join Alice's stupid plan." Robyn looked back up at Kodi, matching sets of tears on their faces, "you said you'd have done the same thing as us, guess it's on me for not pointing out that isn't a good thing." She turned away as Kodi found an empty spot on the floor and sat with his face in his hands.

_Kodi I'm sorry_ was what Robyn wanted so badly to say, but she could bring herself to. She wanted someone to talk to, someone comforting who wasn't related to the quagmire surrounding Ceartais.

Another old saying is to be careful what you wish for.

The scene in the mirror when Robyn looked up chilled her; the version of herself who dressed like a Swat officer was sitting on the ground of a ruined shop, his uniform tattered and he has bleeding badly. He looked completely exhausted and it took him a moment to even notice Robyn. When he did his eyes widened but he gave a pained smile and reached for his phone.

?: Looks like this is it for me, poison's matching the steel blood and I don't think I'll survive a missile hit, those drones are gonna find me soon. At least I have some company now?

Robyn was horrified but managed to grab her phone without breaking concentration, she quickly spoke her message to record.

Robyn: Don't talk like that, what's going on?

"Robyn what are you doing?" Kodi asked, weirded out at seeing his friend talking to the mirror.

?: It's OK, it doesn't matter now, can you stay, I am sorry but I don't want to be alone when I die.

"No no no no no." Robyn was panicking, but she could do anything without losing sight of her double. When he put his hand to the mirror Robyn lined her hand up.

Thankfully help was at hand, Kodi had grown frustrated and simply flew up to see what was going on, "What the hell!"

The sight of the flying wolf startled the other hybrid and Robyn saw him mouth 'Kodi?', but she had no time to answer and was clutching at straws. "Kodi can you open one of your portals in another dimension?"

Kodi knew that was unlikely but Robyn had established a visual link at least, "I can try!" He quickly swapped to his Mage outfit further shooking the hybrid in the mirror. Kodi immediately tried to summon a portal behind the hybrid but nothing happened. "Damn it, let me try modifying the spell."

The other hybrid looked behind him and his eyes closed in resignation, 'they found me' he mouthed, having put his phone down already.

"Kodi hurry!"

"Ok here goes," Kodi threw his hand forward to cast the spell...and nothing happened. Then a strange sky blue light surrounded the edges of the mirror. Robyn's suddenly felt something living meet her paws and saw she was now looking hands with the other hybrid. They were both shocked into motionlessness for a moment before the sound of missles being fired reached them both. Acting on instinct Robyn pulled on her double, and he came through the mirror and they both went tumbling to the floor. The moment he was through the blue light vanished. Kodi quickly summoned a gust of wind that redirected what little of the blast made it through into a wall.

The magic hero landed by the two hybrids and asked "Robyn what is going on here?"

Robyn responded by looking up in joy, "You did in Kodi."

"Robyn?" The male hybrid asked in alarm.

Robyn looked back down, "Yeah, that's my name, guess we never introduced ourselves"

The hybrid gave a weak cough, "That's, that's what we would've called my sister." That brought Robyn to a standstill.

"Your sister? Were you the only survivor of your litter?" He nodded.

"No way," Kodi muttered in awe.

Robbie's description came back to Robyn, _I guess you could say he's the most like Mom, he wanted to be a cop like her since we were little_. She looked at swat cop like Scarlet uniform and knew who this was.

"Ronan, Ronan Wilde."

AN: Chapter 1 concludes with a mysterious but familiar visitor, what else does the Multiverse have in store? Find out next time! Reviews and feedback are greatly appreciated. Next Time: Robyn gets to know the brother she never had, the cavalry is called to the bunker and a new adventure begins!


	3. Chapter 2: Sergeant Red

Hey everyone, I'm back with a new chapter for you all. Thank you so much for your reviews, favorites and follows so far, I hope to keep these coming. We've got a new hero to meet this week, so let's get going.

**Chapter 2: Sargent Red**

"Ronan, Ronan Wilde." Robyn uttered in disbelief.

"No freakin way," Kodi's voice echoed Robyn's.

"Say it again," Ronan pleaded from his place on the floor, "your name, say it again."

"Robyn, my name is Robyn Wilde, it's spelt with a y instead on an I to..."

"Make it different from grandpa's." Ronan finished for her.

Kodi was looking back and forth between his hands, the mirror and the two hybrids, "I can't believe that actually worked."

"What, what happened?" Ronan tried to get a grasp of the situation.

"I pulled my dead brother into our dimension through a mirror," In her shock Robyn spoke to herself but the response answered Ronan's question anyway.

"What?" A small voice came from the front of the shop. All three mammals turned to see that two more mammals had entered. One was a child koala in kids shorts and a T-shirt, the other was a middle age doe bunny in a police uniform. It was probably the weirdest scene Robyn's mother and son had ever seen her in. Between the talk with Kodi and saving Ronan, Robyn had forgotten Judy was bringing Aaron to visit her shop.

"Mom!" Two voices called out simultaneously, Aaron immediately ran forward to his mom while Ronan worked himself to a sitting position at the sight of a bunny who looked exactly like his mother.

Robyn scooped her son up while the focus was centered on Judy slowly approaching the male hybrid. "Mom, what's going on?" Aaron knew it was rude to read minds without permission, and reading his mom's mind recently had proven to be fairly depressing so he didn't try it.

"Yes sweetie, what is...this?" Judy's usual energy was completely absent.

Ronan's eyes widened further at hearing her voice clearly, "You sound just like her too."

Robyn tried to condense the scenario even as she was still trying to process it, "Mom, you know I can see other versions of myself in mirrors?" Judy nearly gave an affirmative nod, "Well I saw...him in the middle of a battle, he was, he was going to die, so I told Kodi to try and open a portal in his dimension and, I don't know I guess it linked our worlds cause I could suddenly feel his hand through the mirror and I pulled him through...just in time." Robyn finally paused to catch her breath, Judy still hadn't said a word, her eyes locked on the male hybrid. So Robyn continued, "He heard my name was Robyn and said that was his dead sister's name, I knew he wasn't me but..."

"Ronan," Judy concluded, recalling Robyn relaying Robbie's descriptions to her.

Aaron perked up, "So he's my uncle?"

"I was gonna die," a quivering voice came from Ronan, tears pooling in the corners of his eyes, "I was gonna get blown to pieces, I was never gonna see them again…" Ronan ceased talking and loudly sobbed. Before Robyn could move to comfort him Judy moved in and cradled his head the same way she did for Luna and Robyn. Judy didn't say a word, Robyn figured she was still processing all of this and it was maternal instincts kicking in. The position was apparently familiar to Ronan as he easily ducked his head in and let it all out. He stated that way for almost half a minute before letting out a gasp of pain.

Judy immediately pulled back, "You're hurt." She said as she started looking him over.

"But you're like me!" Robyn exclaimed, "And you don't even look damaged how have you not healed by now?"

Ronan faced his sister, and that by itself was still a lot to process, "That bas...t…" Ronan cut his curse off upon seeing little kid Aaron still in Robyn's arms, "...bad guy, that bad guy Phelps found a way around my healing, at least a temporary on-agh!" Ronan clutched his gut in agony. "Slow acting poisons, really corrosive, steel blood beats it but it can take hours." Ronan explained the horrific countermeasure through grit teeth.

"Not on our watch!" Judy said with force, "Kodi gets us to the Bunker, Robyn help him up, I'll call Luna." Ronan looked surprised but was reassured by his big sister's presence in the new world he found himself in. Then the universe threw him another swerve as an orange rimmed portal opened up mere feet in front of him.

"Welcome to our Zootopia, it's crazy here." Robyn stated the obvious with a cheeky grin as she helped Ronan to his feet. Aaron, perched on his Mom's shoulders, had an eager grin knowing he was about to visit Team Ceartais' secret base. Ronan had far too many questions but seeing to his wounds was more important so, wincing all the way, he walked in step with Robyn through the portal.

000

Luna Wilde was finding a good night's sleep to be a rarity these days. She loved her five children to death but Alice's prediction had been correct; the children were the death of any semblance of a good sleep schedule. Not that Luna would ever complain about it, but it was a fact of her life now. She'd taken a few weeks off from work on account of sudden children, but now she was back in the hospital and often _needed _more sleep then she got after a long shift.

So it was a pleasant surprise when Luna awoke to find she'd gotten nearly 8 full hours of sleep. She'd gone straight to bed after the four guests had left the meeting fully expecting to be up by noon.

The meeting. _I imagine Kodi is talking with Robyn right about now. It's about time._ Luna had not initially held much anger towards the four mammal team that had captured Alice's demented double, but the way they'd handled themselves in the aftermath had worn down her patience. The four knew on some level that they were hurting Robyn and Olivia and despite Kodi's declaration none of them had made much progress after the holidays had ended

On a logical level she knew that wasn't true; Kion was dealing with a lot of fallout with his family and actually had an excuse to let things cool down. Alice was busy with their children. Hannah had taken some initiative but seemed scared of going forward because she might make things worse, an attitude Luna understood well. Then there was Kodi.

Luna of course felt guilty for the fact that she had kicked off the chain of events that led to the current social striff, especially since it felt like she got lost in the shuffle after they got home. Alice had explained that there were four mammals in her party versus just Luna, so of course she would get overshadowed even if they were all treated equally, and they certainly weren't. Robyn told her that she and Hannah were the only ones who faced consequences other than social scorn. Luna did see that aside from general disappointment the only ones giving Hannah a hard time were Skye and, well, Hannah herself. Her mother had explained that they _were_ upset with her, but the thing most of the adults were furious with was the risk to a pregnant mother and her children.

Kion was absolutely right. Nick and Judy had lost Robyn's brothers, Nala and Simba though Kiara had died in the wave, and Jack and Skye had lost their first child to a car accident. For them the risk taken was inexcusable to matter the circumstances, and it was a risk Luna was innocent of.

Alice was in the living room with the children, with Heather taking her turn to be fed. "Bonjour mi amor, did you sleep well?" Even in the midst of the turmoil the family was going through her wife's silky voice never failed to make Luna smile.

"I did, thank you," Luna's smile slipped from her face at the question she was about to ask. "Alice?"

"Yes Luna," her wife's tone of voice put Alice back on edge.

"Did we make a mistake giving Kodi leadership of the team?"

"What?! No, I, where did this come from?" Alice had to readjust her grip on Heather in shock from the question.

"I saw how much Kodi grew since since he first became The Mage, but seeing how he's handled all the scrutiny since the mission ended it, it makes me feel like we jumped the gun on this one. There's a big difference between my position and Olivia's. He's just watched Robyn be miserable like waiting is going to fix anything!" Luna outburst triggered a cry from John, followed by the rest of the group and it took the mother's a minute to calm them down. Luna slumped back into a couch,"Sorry about that."

"It's fine, I understand why you're angry." Alice positioned Stewart to be fed, "So you think Kodi isn't ready for leadership?"

"He's still so immature, I don't think he completely gets why everyone is mad with us."

"I agree he's not ready but Kodi's always been willing to improve himself when it's needed, he even got over his player shtick when Clara burned him."

Any further discussion was cut off by Luna's phone ringing, she recognized the ringtone. "Why is Mom calling?" Luna asked out loud to fill Alice in. "Hello Mom."

"Luna we need you in the Bunker right away."

"What? Mom what is going…"

"Look it's gonna take a while to explain but we have a mammal here we can't take to a hospital and needs medical attention quickly." Judy's voice was urgent.

"Mom I, alright I'll head over…"

"Kodi's gonna open a portal, right by your door."

_Ok it's really urgent, _"Alright, just let me get dressed."

"3 minutes, then the portal opens." Judy hung up.

Alice spoke up before Luna could address her, "Go, I heard everything, she was not speaking quietly." Luna smiled and dashed to her room, threw some acceptable work clothes on washed her mouth out before standing a ways back from the elevator doors.

"Go be a hero mon amor," Alice called.

"I'll be home by tonight," Luna responded. Not ten seconds later a ring of orange opened and Luna jumped through into the bunker. Kodi was waiting for her and apparently knew what she was going to ask.

"Robyn pulled one of her mirror selves into our dimension, I'm not sure how _exactly_ and he's in a really bad state, there's some kind of poison that's overwhelming his regeneration." Kodi rapid-fired the info while leaving out unnecessary details. Luna had bucket loads of questions but stayed focused and entered the medical wing to find a male fox bunny hybrid laying on the table.

Ronan had been stripped of all clothes above his waist, as well as his heavier equipment. Luna took a quick glance at his physique. He was obviously tall, almost a head taller than Robyn, and had a well toned muscles visible. The most eye catching feature to Luna were the amethyst eyes that perfectly matched her mother's. It was one thing to hear about male versions of her sister, it was quite another to see one.

"Luna," Bella's voice called out, "I have located the three dispensers of the poison in the patient's body, but we should act quickly."

"Right," Luna declared while moving to grab some medical equipment for herself, "Time to be a hero."

000

Aaron knew his Mom was using the tour of the Bunker to give him something to do besides wait outside the medical wing, but it was a tour of the home base of Team Ceartais so he didn't mind. Aaron also saw that his Mom was doing the thing she did when she was upset; which was to not hold him by the hand. She was doing that a lot lately and it was starting to worry him.

Still his Mom was speaking happily about the next stop on the tour; the uniform displays.

"This is what the guy John's named for wore as a hero?" Aaron asked about the honestly boring looking blue suit that dwarfed the others.

"Yeah, but the M.M. Gang weren't heroes, they were thieves and that's why their outfits are less flashy than ours." Robyn explained, noticing the childish critical look on Aaron's face.

"But your grandparent's outfits look like heroes outfits," Aaron countered as he pointed to two displays to the right of John's. The Hood and The Maid outfits were partial recreations as the originals were destroyed in the explosion that claimed the famous outlaws.

"But you have to admit they look pretty basic," Robyn replied, happy her son was enjoying the sights.

"I guess, so what's with those four?" Aaron indicated a quartet of displays facing opposite the M.M. Gang's.

"These are retired outfits from Team Ceartais members, we've got aunt Alice's old sneaking suit from before she started playing a ghost," Ronin's outfit was stripped of the weapons but was otherwise intact, though seeing it brought some bad memories to Robin's mind, "then there's The Mage's pre-I have actual magic outfit," Kodi's simple old outfit reminded Robyn of the talk Ronan's arrival had interrupted, "then there's Aunt Luna's Andraste outfit," Robyn wasn't sure if her sister knew that Olivia had retrieved the outfits from the trash can before they moved to the Kestrel, before Luna.., "and finally...Roar's pants." Seeing the outfits of three of the four members of the Ronin trap squad just drained Robyn's enthusiasm and Aaron saw it.

"So the outfit goes here if you quit being a hero like Mufasa's dad?"

"Yeah, though the rest were just replaced."

"Mufasa wasn't happy his Dad quit, especially since his Mom wouldn't tell him everything." Aaron informed his Mom.

"Well that's for the Priderock's to sort out," Robyn hoped to move away from her teammates as discussion topics.

Aaron had a guilty look appear on his face, "Mom, Mufasa asked me about what his dad and the others did and I told him."

Robyn's eyes widened, but found she couldn't muster any sympathy for Kion. "Well it was bound to happen sooner or later."

"Yeah but now Mufasa and his dad aren't getting along, that's bad, right?"

Robyn thought about how best to answer that and decided to give a little lesson, "Well Aaron, the thing is that Kion's dealing with this thing called consequences."

"Consequences?" Aaron asked with a held tilt.

"It means he's dealing with how his actions hurt those around him, when you do something bad it can hurt those around you and makes it harder for them to trust you. Those feelings are real and those people have a right to feel them. People face consequences when they do bad things so they can learn from their mistakes and hopefully not make them again. So it is good that Mufasa and Kion aren't getting along, because that means Kion is facing consequences and hopefully it will get better."

"So will things get better between you and Mom?" Aaron sprung his swerve.

Robyn didn't miss a beat, "Yes Aaron, they will, even if it doesn't feel like it and Hannah doesn't think they will right now, they will."

"So what about you and Kodi?"

Robyn sighed, "That'll depend on him, why did you ask?"

"Because he's standing behind you." Aaron pointed. Robyn turned sharply and saw that Kodi was indeed standing at the entrance of the room.

"How did you sneak up on me?" Robyn demanded.

Kodi had a very forced neutral look on his face. "I flew down, Luna's wrapping up the operation." To prove his point Kodi floated up and back out the entrance without another word, not making any sound in the process.

Robyn picked Aaron up as she raced after her teammate, very aware he'd heard at least some of her talk with Aaron.

000

Robyn had seen Luna operate in the bunker several times since she rejoined the team, but this time the medical wing look more like a hazard lab. Her sister was sealing a waste disposal bin that was bright yellow in color and had a hazard symbol on the side. She was also wearing much thinker protective gear then she normally wore for an operation. Even Judy, who had been working as a run and grab stuff assistant, was wearing some such gear. Fortunately Ronan seemed to be doing much better, he was sitting up on the operating table and his shirtlessness let Robyn see that he had healed up completely. The wonders of rapid regeneration.

Luna finished sealing the drum and signalled for Bella to take it away. "Any lingering pain?" she asked with a pleasant smile.

"None, it looks like your medical skills are just as remarkable here as they are back home." Ronan spoke with a very formal voice.

"Well I hate to disappoint...I just realized they never told me your name," Luna realized.

"That was deliberate, they figured you didn't need the distraction while operating. My name is Ronan Wilde." That brought Luna to a standstill. "And while we haven't been able to discuss circumstances very much, I was the only survivor of my litter of four and one of them was a sister named Robyn." Ronan turned to face Robyn, "I admit I did wish to see you again after our brief chat in the mirror several days ago, but this is not what I was expecting."

"Your doing a good job staying calm considering the circumstances," Judy noted.

"Believe me I am very freaked out here mom...or, um should I?" Ronan stumbled.

"Call me and anyone else whatever makes you comfortable," Judy eased.

Kodi spoke up, "So you met Robyn in the mirror a few days ago, right?" Kodi question. Ronan nodded and Kodi turned to Robyn, "was it a few days for you too?"

Robyn saw where Kodi was going with this, "Yeah, and that means there's no time difference this time!" Everyone in the room who understood was glad that mental headache wasn't back again.

"Time difference?" Ronan asked, "Do you mean it's another year in this world?"

"No," Luna answered having recovered from the initial shock, "last month we had a mission in another dimension where nine and a half hours passed for every one here in Zootopia. But on your question, what year is it in your world?"

Ronan was clearly still on the time flow difference bombshell but answered, "It's 2035 in my world, I turn 18 in a month."

"I thought you looked a bit young for 21, its January 2039 here, you jumped ahead 4 years bro." Robyn informed as she and the others took a closer look at the hybrid. Ronan looked uncomfortable with all the attention and crossed his arms over his chest, seeming to remember that he still didn't have a shirt on.

Thankfully Judy noticed, "Bella, are you finished cleaning his uniform?"

"Almost Chief Wilde, it will be by the time you come to retrieve it." Judy needed no further prompting and promised to return quickly.

Robyn was watching her mother go when Ronan addressed her, "Robyn, Kodi, thank you for saving my life, I really did think that was it for me." All five mammals smiled in return, but then Ronan continued, "but I have to ask, how am I going to get back home?"

All was silent for a moment, no one was 100% sure how they'd gotten Ronan to their dimension let alone how to return him home. Before too many uncomfortable gazes could be exchanged, Bella spoke up "Perhaps Kodi should call Clara over to give her perspective?" Kodi's face lit up and he quickly pulled his phone out.

"That's my baby, great idea!" He started walking out of the medical wing but called over his shoulder, "Just put a pin in the getting him home thing for now, I'll get the expert." Then he was gone.

Ronan looked after Kodi before facing his sister, "Who is Clara?"

Robyn smiled back, "Kodi's girlfriend and the newest member of Team Ceartais, she's also a physicist and trust me when I say she knows what she's talking about."

Ronan's jaw dropped, "Kodi has a girlfriend!?" He exclaimed, much to the amusement of Robyn and Luna, who realized how shocking that must be to the younger mammal.

"Yup," Robyn chuckled, "There's hope for your wolf yet." In spite of himself Ronan had to smile. Judy walked back in with Ronan's clothes, freshly cleaned to get ant poison off of them.

"Here you go Ronan," Judy handed them off, "but I would like to know why your outfit is swat themed?"

"Well, um, Mom, I always wanted to be a cop like you were, so when we joined Ceartais they designed my outfit to resemble Dad's swat gear. Nana figured a supercop of sorts would be good for the message of hope the star stands for." Judy had a beaming smile on her face, both for being called Mom and knowing one of her sons did take after her, at least in another world.

"It's certainly better than the zombie thing I got slapped with when I became Scarlet," Robyn remarked, recalling her displeasure with the media's supernatural take on her.

"Scarlet? Oh we have different hero names!" Ronan realized excitedly, "Ahem, I'm Sargent Red of Team Ceartais."

"Well i'm The Undying Scarlet, " Robyn grinned as an idea formed in her head. "Hey Luna, while we wait for Clara to come back, why don't we gear up and show off?"

"I would like to see what my sister wears in action." Ronan replied.

Luna was also smiling, "Oh I guess there's no harm, I'm not on active duty right now but I can gear up." With the kids now living in their penthouse and both mammals off duty, Luna and Alice had moved their hero equipment out of their home and into the bunker with the others.

The three Wilde children dispersed while Aaron waited with Judy. All three were careful not to rush the suiting up before they converged in the main area. There were surprised looks all around. Robyn had already seen Ronan in uniform, but seeing it without obstruction really made her brother look more majestic, especially with how tall he was. Ronan looked like he was trying to wrap his head around Luna's Maiden outfit. "I'm a bit surprised that's your outfit Luna, no skin being shown off at all."

"I ditched that when I abandoned the name Andraste, it's Maiden now." Luna explained.

"Like Nana?"

"In honor of her."

"In hon-, oh, oh no." Ronan realized what that meant.

"She died a hero," Judy consoled, "In the end she managed to do the right thing."

"I'm guessing that means Ceartais got off on the same bad foot as it did in my world? Is...Andi a thing here?"

"Yes and yes, but the latter's been dealt with for years now. Let's not dwell on that, I'm more interested in that gun of yours. It looks like one of Bullet's"

"It more or less is," Ronan pulled the firearm out to show it off, "I'm very strong and that can make dealing with smaller criminals very dangerous for them, so I prefer to just traq them and move on." Ronan shook his head, I've honestly never liked fighting, I became a hero to help mammals."

"Best reason there is, for a cop or a hero." Judy stated proudly.

"I'm guessing that Robyn, no, Scarlet uses that staff for similar reasons?"

"Yeah, plus it gives me some extra reach." Scarlet expanded her staff to prove a point.

"So where does the mirror viewing thing come from?"

Judy answered, "Around 7 months ago a purple rift appeared in the sky over Zootopia, it started spewing out clouds all over the city and those struck by them gained superpowers. There's more to it, including who was behind the incident but that's it as far as Robyn and Aaron's powers are concerned."

"Your son has powers!"

"Yup," Aaron cheered while levitating his backpack to display his telekinesis, amazing the cop hero.

"If you don't mind me asking, who is the lucky lady?" Instead of responding Robyn pulled out her phone and pulled up a special image; one of her and Hannah on their wedding day. "No way, is that Hannah? You two look gorgeous and, oh, I guess you calling her Bullet should've told me this, but she's blind here too."

"Yeah, Hannah's tough though, she dealt with it," Robyn was glad she was able to easily muster pride in her wife despite the circumstances.

"If I may ask a question Ronan?" Luna spoke up and Ronan nodded, "Your Team Ceartias has you, Andraste and Bullet, are the other members Spitfire, Roar and The Mage?"

"That's correct, though Andraste and Roar were later additions, I'm guessing your Team was similar?" Luna nodded in confirmation. "Considering none of my teammates are named Clara I'm guessing you've picked up some new recruits?"

Luna nodded, "Yueri and Sirius, the later is Clara's codename."

"Does she use that sword over there?" Ronan pointed to an ornately designed sword hanging in a case in the main lobby; said sword occasionally had blue streams of energy ripple down the blade. It was Excalibur; the sword of Team Ceartais' recent ally Arthur Knight.

Any chance for the Wildes to answer that was cut off when a voice rang from above, "No that 's not mine, you got the species right though." Everyone followed the voice upwards and saw nothing, but they heard something land behind them and turned to see a golden tan she-wolf land had landed behind Ronan.

Luna sighed, "Did you really need to change into the outfit Clara?"

"No, but it's always fun," Clara justified, being very amused by the dumbstruck look on Ronan's face.

Robyn chuckled at the amusing scene, "Clara this is my brother from another dimension; Ronan aka Sargent Red, Ronan this is Ceartais' newest member; Clara Bloom aka Sirius."

Ronan, clearly still startled by the skin baring wolf's sudden appearance, reached out a hand in greeting, "It's, uh, very nice to meet you Sirius, I understand you can help me get back home?"

Clara took the offered hand and shook it, "That's why they called me here, Kodi's setting up the mirror from their shop in the lab." She turned around and started leading the others.

"You went back to the shop and got the exact same mirror?" Robyn asked with amused surprise.

"It's probably unneeded but we're gonna try to recreate all of the circumstances from when he got pulled over." Clara explained, "That and Kodi remembered that you never closed the shop for the day."

"Kodi owns an auto repair shop?" Ronan asked.

"Co-owns with me actually, my day job is as a mechanic." Robyn explained proudly.

"Wow, you've really got it all figured out don't you?" Ronan's polite voice betrayed a hint of envy. Before anyone could comment Kodi's voice rang out from the lab.

"Alright, I've got the mirror set up, Robyn lets try and figure this out." The mirror had been detached from the car side and was now secured to a stand on the table. Kodi had set a couple of chairs from around the area in front of the mirror.

While Robyn and Kodi got into position, Clara called on Ronan, "So Ronan, what exactly was going on when you were pulled through?"

"We were battling Phelps goons when one of his drones got the drop on me and hit me with those venom capsules. I was separated from the others and tried to hide and wait it out but they caught up with me." Ronan stared off into the background, "I hope the others are OK, they didn't sound like they were having trouble but who knows."

"Wait," Judy spoke up, "Phelps, Eustis Phelps? Phelps Arms CEO?" Ronan nodded. Judy sighed, "I honestly forgot about him, he kind of got lost in the shuffle with all the stuff with The Drowned."

"The Drowned, what is that?" Ronan asked a shocked room.

Robyn decided to step in, "Ok look if we start giving history lessons for every difference in our worlds we'll never get anywhere. The Drowned were a terrorist cult that popped up after the wave, water themed, nonsense philosophy, tried to kill millions, we stopped them, end of story. How about we focus on how I'm supposed to get a lock on Ronan's home dimension when he's already in ours?" No one had a good answer.

Clara spoke up after a minute of contemplation, "Well, how did you see the Cauldron falling towards Zootopia while we were in The Champion's dimension?"

"I was looking at Dad, I really just wanted a hug at that point," _that_ comment made Kodi wince in guilt, it was rare enough for Robyn to admit vulnerability but to do so so passively? "Anyway the point is I was looking at someone I obviously know really well and I don't have even a hundredth the frame of reference for Ronan's earth.

"Well has anyone other then an alternate you ever shown up in the mirror without you looking?" Judy tried to find an alternate avenue.

"No, wait...yes, the time when I told Hannah about what I was seeing, right before that I saw Robbie's Hannah in the mirror with her!"

"So other people can show up, and we've got three mamamls Ronan would be familiar with right here!" Clara excitedly realized. "Luna go stand next to Robyn."

Luna did so and Robyn tried looking into the mirror while Kodi prepared his spell, but the next ten minutes were just a stream of seeing random Robyn's in the mirror. Some of them new, some she recognized from the vampire mirror maze, she saw the green eyed male version who once again tried to punch her as well as the friendly scientist, but Robyn was rapidly blinking to try and get a result. "Nothing." She sighed in defeat.

"Hey, Ronan said they were in a battle when he left, so Andraste is likely to be high up somewhere away from any good mirrors, I used to fight from the ground so maybe there's a better chance with me," Kodi explained as he took Luna's place.

As soon as he did the mirror shifted and an image showed up, but not a pleasant one. A version of Kodi was hunkered down in a store trying to protect a wounded Bullet from something outside. His shield was up and he was waving his wand around but whatever was outside was getting closer. "That's it, that's my world!" Ronan explained, getting up next to Robyn, "Kodi use your spell!"

Kodi did so, and nothing happened, he did it again and again but the end results were the same. "This is the same thing I did back in the shop, why isn't it working?"

"Kodi!" Ronan screamed, though for which one no one knew.

"Mom what's happening?" Aaron asked as he landed on Robyn's shoulder.

Not taking her gaze from the mirror Robyn shouted, "Mom get Aaron out of here!"

"Come on Kodi," Clara urged. Kodi waved his hands forward one more time, and a familiar blue light surrounded the edge of the mirror. Luna and Clara moved forward as Judy tried to pry Aaron lose. But before anyone could do anything a powerful suction force emerged from the glowing mirror, pulling Kodi, Robyn and Aaron forward, Clara, Luna and Judy tried to grab their respective target but just got pulled forward too. In a manner of seconds all six mammals had vanished through the glowing mirror. The next second the glow disappeared.

AN: And thus we have our main party for the story. Robyn, Kodi, Clara and Luna have been pulled into a new world, and Judy and Aarona re along for the ride! What adventures await them in Ronan's Zootopia? Next time on Dimensions and Time: The team land in the middle of a battle, faces familiar and new show up and Clara gets a chance to prove herself.


	4. Chapter 3: The Stars Ignite

AN**: **Hey everyone, thank you so much to everyone who faved, followed and reviewed last chapter, hope I can continue to entertain. This chapter introduced multiverse versions of familiar characters, so a prefix will be added to those that need to be distinguished from one of our regular heroes. Ex, the Kodi in the world the heroes have landed in will be called The young Kodi/Mage. So without further ado, let's get going.

**Chapter 3: The Stars Ignite**

The blue glow in the mirror faded before the final mammal hit the floor. Robyn and Kodi were at the bottom of the pile with Clara, Luna, Ronan, and Judy with Aaron in her arms on top of them. Robyn knew this hadn't happened when she'd pulled Ronan into her dimension, but the Multiverse did not give her a moment to process that information.

"What the, Ronan your alive!" An excited voice rang out from further up in the store they'd landed in. It was the Mage of Ronan's world, and he was protecting a downed Bullet as they'd seen in the mirror. Despite the dire situation the younger wolf had an ear splitting grin on his face.

"Mage stay down!" Ronan shouted from the pile, not wanting his friend distracted at a time like this. Fortunately the younger Mage listened and stayed behind the overturned desk as well as his own shield. The assailant moved in front of the store and was finally visible to the mammals inside. What stepped in looked like a twisted mockery of the old Spitfire mech Olivia piloted. It was bulkier all around, lacked any tail, and the head was a sphere. If the original Spitfire mechs were meant to look vaguely mammalian in shape, then this thing was meant to look as inorganic as possible.

The machine examined the interior of the store. Though its gaze initially fell on the hunkered down Mage it quickly turned to the pile of mammals trying to get up. Without missing a beat it raised one arm to launch some form of attack.

"Shit!" The young Mage cursed, "look out!" but his concern was unneeded. Sirius had been the last mammal to come through the mirror and thus was on top of the pile. She'd taken advantage of her flight powers to gently hover up and hang in the air above the others. When she saw the machine enter she'd already aimed a paw at it and when it began to move its arm up she let loose a blast of energy. The machine's arm was hit and blew up, and an electric overload sent the machine stumbling backwards. It never got the chance to recover. Scarlet had pulled herself free and, knowing her son was in danger, bounded forward to deliver a strong jump kick straight to the machine's head. The sphere top of the machine was flung off and the rest toppled down; unmoving.

"Woah," was all the young Mage could utter.

"Is Bullet OK?" Ronan asked as he ran over to his friends. Now that the immediate threat was past the others could see they were in an abandoned eyeglass store, most of which had been emptied a while ago.

The young Mage turned away from the gorgeous flying she wolf and threw his arms around the hybrid. "You're alive man, we all though you'd…" he didn't finish.

Ronan held the embrace for a few seconds before pulling away, "I'm alive, but the others might still be in danger, how's Bullet and what's the situation?" Ronan asked while moving to check his downed teammate. Luna and Judy were impressed with how quickly Ronan got his friend back on track.

"That mech clipped Hannah with an explosive and knocked her into a wall, she's fine but I couldn't grab her shotgun." Young Kodi lamented, "last I heard Spitfire was fighting some drones up in the sky, Roar got ambushed by a big mech and some goons, Bella was dealing with another small mech and Ronin and Andraste took out one of two elixir rams." Ronan processed what he'd been told while the others tried to figure out some of the jargon. "So now you know, now who _are _these mammals?" Young Mage waved his arm at the now untangled guests.

"These mammals saved my life, they're from another dimension where they are Team Ceartais, minus Chief Wilde and the kid." Ronan explained with complete sincerity.

Young Mage was completely blank faced, looking back and forth between his friend and the strangers before shaking his head in disbelief, "Ronan this, this is the part where you say gotcha and snap a picture of my face, except that you...you never joke about this stuff which means your...telling the truth?" Ronan nodded in response, happy that his no nonsense attitude during missions was making the story...less impossible to believe.

Before any more discussion could be had a rumbling noise was heard from outside. "Good, Bella is here." Ronan announced. Sure enough a black painted vehicle with a gold nautical star on the hood rolled up in front of the store. Unlike Kodi's original pickup truck or their Bella's more recent model; this Bella looked like a small armored personnel carrier. It had heavy duty wheels, thick slanted armor and numerous weapon ports. There was also a cable attached to the back that was tied to another of the machines Clara and Robyn had downed. Kodi whistled at the powerful vehicle.

"Why drag the trashed ones around now, couldn't you just retrieve them later?" Luna asked aloud.

Ronan answered, "Those aren't drones, they're like Spitfire: piloted mechs. The mechs don't matter but the mice or rats piloting these things can slip away pretty easily. As he explained, Ronan ripped open a chest cavity in the mech Bella was dragging and pulled out a greasy looking rat. "Bella open the jail seat."

"Of course Sergeant, it is good to see you unharmed." A panel on the back left side of Bella opened and revealed a set of rodent sized prisons, one of which Ronan promptly dropped the rat in before moving onto the other.

"Thanks on both counts Bella," Ronan replied.

"Wait a minute," Clara yelped, "you mean to tell me a zapped a piloted mech, I might have…"

"Don't worry it was self defense, and the law doesn't really care if these guys die for working with a terrorist," Ronan explained. He retrieved the mouse pilot and dropped him in the prison as well before it closed.

"So is no one else a little concerned that we've landed in another dimension?" Kodi asked. Everyone considered the implications, but Robyn interrupted them.

"Yes we're concerned, but we've caused a jump twice now so we can do it again, right now though we're in the middle of a battle!" She pointed to young Mage who was loading Bullet into Bella.

"Scarlet is right," Ronan declared, "You can stay with Bella where it's safe, I've got to go help my team."

"Not by yourself you're not!" Robyn walked up to him.

"I can't ask you to risk your lives."

"Then it's a good thing you don't need to ask me," Robyn countered.

"Count me in too," Kodi said, "We're Team Ceartais no matter the dimension."

"What they said," Clara added, not used to making bold statements yet.

"You almost died once today, don't go and do it again," Robyn finished.

Ronan looked at the assembled heroes before him and gave a small smile, "Thank you. What about you Maiden?" The groups turned towards Maiden, who had summoned her nanotechnology mask up.

"I'll stay with Chief Wilde and Aaron in Bella. That way I can check up on their Bullet as well." Luna was also not so eager to throw herself into a potential war zone after a month off duty raising her children, but she left that unsaid.

Robyn walked over to her mother and son, "Aaron, mommy's gotta go be a hero for a bit, so you behave for grandma okay."

Aaron was smiling, "You got it mom."

"Yes you do," Judy agreed, "just please be careful, we know they can hurt you here." Robyn nodded in affirmation.

"Okay let's get going, Mage you got that?" The younger wolf nodded. Ronan and Robyn pulled their scarths over their mouths and Ronan also pulled his goggles down over his eyes. Finally he pulled his helmet, which had been hanging from his collar by a strap, back over his head. "Let's get to the top of that building and scope the situation." Sergeant Red led The Undying Scarlet, The Mage and Sirius into the streets.

000

Maiden was tending to Bullet's wounds in the spacious interior of Bella, which included two seats in the front, two sets of two seats in the middle for mammals of varying sizes, and finally a section in the rear with seats along the wall and a door that opened in the back.

"This thing really is built for a war," Judy noted from her spot in the back left seat. Bullet was laid out in the back with Maiden standing over her. Aaron was in Judy's lap and young Mage was in the driver's seat.

"It has to be, Phelps destroyed Bella's original body cause it was too lightly armored for this crazy city." Young Mage informed, his voice making it clear he was still sad about that loss.

"How did it come to this," Maiden asked from her position in the back.

"It's because of Phelps, it was mostly behind the scenes stuff with him at first, a lot of nonsense with Camelot and that elixir pump they stole from Olivia, ah, did I just..?"

"Similar to our world so far, we know who Olivia and Camelot are," Judy soothed.

"Well anyway Ceartais was just doing the patrolling thing for 8 months or so after the wave, even started doing some daytime appearances at relief centers. Honestly the worst of it was Ronin and she wound up joining our side eventually."

"Nice to know more than one Alice made the right choices," Maiden smiled, at young Mage's confused face she elaborated, "Alice joined Ceartais in our world."

"Really!?" Young Kodi exclaimed and received several nods in return. 'Well anyway the good times, er, well not good but, you know what I mean ended when that asshole went for Kion. It just went downwards from there."

"Kion was attacked? Is he okay?' Maiden called out.

"Worse than attacked and...hopefully he'll be okay, eventually."

"So Mufasa's dad isn't Roar in this world?" Aaron spoke up. His grin made it hard to tell if he was obvious or complete aware of how awkward a question that was.

"Kion is Roar in your world, and he's a Dad!?" Young Mage actually got out of his seat and moved to the back.

"Wait if Kion isn't Roar is this world, then who is?" Judy wondered.

"Don't change the subject," young Mage demanded. But any further talk was put off by Bullet letting out a low moan. Maiden signalled young Mage over so Bullet had a familiar face to greet her.

"Maybe we should hold off on the questions until everyone is here, otherwise we're going to be spirographing ourselves a lot," Maiden proposed to nods of agreement. Young Mage was among them, but he knew he and Bullet had to talk about something.

"Then how about you tell us what happened with Ronan so we're all on the same page?"

"Ronan's...okay?" Bullet weakly asked. Young Mage sighed, knowing it was probably going to be an even longer day then he thought.

000

Sirius and The Mage had flown Scarlet and Red to the top of the tallest building in the area, giving them a clear view of the destroyed sections of Sahara Square. "This is a view I haven't missed," Kodi remarked. From the high top it was easy to see Spitfire and several smaller drones doing battle over a trashed harbor. There was also a scuffle going on several blocks away, but they couldn't see where this world's Andraste and Ronin were fighting.

"Ideally we'd go as a group to each location and help, but I'm not sure we have time for that, even with portals," Red summed up the situation.

"Then we split up," Mage said while looking out to the sky battle.

"Fine," Red agreed, "remember we want to capture one of the drones to hack, but they have a nasty habit of self destruction when things get dicey."

"I'll go help Roar," Mage announced, "My magic can mess with an ambush."

Sirius nodded, "And I can knock some of those drones out of the sky."

"While we go help your sister," Scarlet said to Red.

"Alright, let's move!"

"Oh-de-lally!," Mage, Red and Scarlet yelled in unison as they jumped off the roof, causing Clara to swerve slightly in surprise.

"Still not used to that part," she muttered in annoyance.

Mage stuck close to the building as he flew to the large brawl taking place in the streets, not wanting to blow the element of surprise. What he saw when upon arrived was indeed a well sprung trap. A massive mech was doing battle with a chalk white lion in the middle of the street, with two flying drones that looked like floating beetles hung over the clash. There were also two crows nests manned by teams of two, but neither they nor the drones were attacking. It was only when the lion knocked the mech down that two things became clear; the drones and gunners were there to cover the large mech, whenever it got knocked away or in trouble they opened fire with bullets and small missiles that kept the lioness from pressing her advantage. That was the other revelation, and the one that made Mage freeze up; the lion was a woman, one he had last seen five years ago.

The lioness was wearing a black sleeveless midriff that left her incredibly muscled body on full display. Her pants were urban camo colored and she wore a belt with several gadgets hanging from it. "Lily," Mage mumbled, but then remembered this was a world with no Drowned. A closer look revealed that the lioness' belt buckle had the word Roar on it just like Kion's did. In this world Kiara Priderock was Roar, and she needed help.

Mage slipped closer to the assailants as Roar fended off several electricity charged attacks from the giant mech. He decided the living mammals would be better first targets. While their attention was on Roar as she managed to shove the enemy mech back again, Kodi opened a portal right underneath one team and dumped them on top of the second team. The larger deer and tiger of team one flattened the smaller wolf and jackal of team two. Before any of the four could do more than curse in surprise they each had a tranq card in the face.

The Mage landed and turned to the battle to see that the drones had realized something was wrong and were taking aim at him. Not giving them the chance he jumped back through the still open portal and landed on the other roof. He took to the air and dove for the ground the drones in pursuit.

While the Mage was flipping the table on the enemy, Roar noticed that the barrage that had prevented her from exploiting any openings she made was less than before and chances a look upward. She briefly caught a glimpse of a masked wolf and realized The Mage had come to aid her. She thankfully turned back in time to miss The Mage flying off the roof with the drones in pursuit, instead focusing on the now solo enemy in front of her. With a fearsome growl she charged and uppercut the mech, sending it stumbling backwards and charged in to continue the beat down.

Mage was leading the drones around the block back towards the main action, dodging and using his shield to keep himself safe. He would've destroyed the drones by now but he remembered Red wanted at least one of them captured relatively intact. So instead he led them towards the spot where he first dove down from the buildings.

He turned the corner back to the street Roar was fighting in and saw that she had her enemy dead to rights. Without covering fire pinning her down, Roar was free to go all out and had done so in an efficient manner. She turned at the sound of the approaching drones but froze at the sight of the flying wolf. "What the hell!" She screamed. Mage suddenly turned sharply and flew straight up, as the drones tried to make the same turn a pair of earth hands erupted from the ground and grabbed them right at the slowest part of the turn.

One of the drones exploded when it tried to push forward, but the other was successfully stopped. Mage pulled out his wand in preparation of hacking the drone, no need to risk it damaging itself to the point of self destruction like its twin. Him pointing the wand was accompanied by Roar shouting, "Wait don't!" But it was too late. Mage's HUD display showed a self destruct sequence in the drone triggered by the hack. The earth fist contained most of it, but Mage threw his shield up to be safe.

Mage floated in the air, stunned by what just happened. "You idiot!" Roar screamed as she approached, "How could you forget that they blow up when you try to hack them!?" Mage quickly put two and two together, his younger version had already tried the hack shutdown. If Phelps was smart enough to find a way around Ronan's regeneration then he could find a way around a simple hack attempt. Mage wanted to facepalm for not thinking of that, but Roar was still going. "Do you think we'll get another chance to catch one of these things, you might have blown the last shot, you, your, your flying." Roar's energy fizzled out as she stated the blatantly obvious but shill hard to process fact.

"Uh, yeah, I'm flying," Mage tried to think how best to break the news of what was going on to Roar, and settled on stating the facts, "I'm not the Mage you know, me and my teammates are from another dimension."

Roar starred blank faced at him for a few seconds before stating, "Yeah I'm bringing you in," and leapt for him. The Mage had seen this coming and flew back and up, out of reach of Roar.

Mage looked to the sea and could see flashes of energy from Sirius. "I'm gonna go help my teammate and your Spitfire, Rona, ugh, Red is alive by the way, meet up at Bella." With that bare bones explanation he flew off to help in the sky battle. Leaving a confused and angry giant lioness behind, and wondering what other surprises lay ahead.

000

Red and Scarlet were able to quickly track their targets down thanks to Bella. The Andraste and Ronin of this world were fighting in a school that had been partially destroyed by the Wave. As they moved both heroes took in the novelty of having someone who could match them in travel speed around. Both were used to leaving the rest of the team behind when they really wanted to move unless said teammate could fly. Knowing who their new jumping partner was brought a small smile to both faces that was hidden behind their scarves.

When the two arrived at the school they saw an unconscious ram near one of the entrances, what was weird to Scarlet was that he had an arrow sticking out of his lower back. "Is he...?"

"He's not dead, that's a cryo arrow," Red answered, having anticipated Scarlet's question, "best way to disable and elixir mammal is to freeze the pump."

It took a moment for the terminology to register with Scarlet, then her eyes widened, "Wait, you mean like Roar's elixir pump? How are we supposed to fight someone like that?" Red's unbroken stride towards what looked like a gym part of the school kept Scarlet going despite the alarming news.

"Phelps found a way to modify the serum to make it so more mammals could use it without dying, more accessible but weaker transformations. Still bulletproof, very strong, very loud and very dangerous," he briefly paused at the slightly opened door, the sounds of a scuffle could be heard from inside. "You ready?" Scarlet nodded, and Red kicked the door open.

Inside they saw a wrecked school gym room, complete with bleachers on one wall and one basketball hoop stand having fallen from the ceiling. The floor was cracked and uneven, leaving numerous places a foot could be impaled. Two fights were happening in opposite corners of the room. In the near corner on the left from the door; Ronin was locked in battle with three foxes in similar combat gear to her own. They were equipped with dual ended spears and were working in tandem to keep the sword weilding bunny at bay. In the far right corner Andraste was trying to keep ahead of a large elixir ram by hopping across the bleachers and getting up into some of the gyms ceiling lights, but the ram was relentless and the vixen rarely had a chance to fire an arrow.

Scarlet made up her mind, "Help your sister, you know how to handle those things, I'm better with melee."

"You sure?"

Scarlet smiled under her scarf, "I was trained by Alice." She then ran towards the four mammal melee in the corner. She saw that Ronin's kunai belt and holster were empty, explaining why she kept the fight going with her sword. None of her opponents could land a hit on her but she couldn't break their defence, especially with her inferior reach. It was clear she would tire out first.

Scarlet extended her staff in preparation but her footsteps did not go unnoticed, one of the foxes, a male arctic one, was facing in her direction and broke of his attack on Ronin to intercept her. Their staves met at eye level but Scarlet had greater strength and forced it to the side. The fox turned with his weapon and the other end of the spear slashed Scarlet right in the chest. He clearly expect the pain to disable her, instead Scarlet swung her staff up and caught the fox in the chin, sending him to the ground and knocking the weapon from his hands. He looked up in time to see Scarlet's fist coming at his face.

Scarlet was about to turn when she felt a steel edge lightly press on her throat. "Your assistance is appreciated, but why should I trust you stranger?" Ronin had apparently dispatched her enemies and turned her blade on her would be savior.

Rather then give a worded answer, Scarlet let her body fall to the side away from Ronin, her throat lightly grazing the sharp edge of the sword, before swinging her staff in and arc that forced Ronin to jump and dodge it. The two mammals squared each other up before moving in. Scarlet had no intention of making this last long and raised her staff above her head for a downward smash, Ronin took advantage of the opening and went for the unguarded side, but it was a trap. At just the right moment, Scarlet loosened her gripe with her lower hand, using it to guide the staff as she thrust it down. The jab caught Ronim in the gut and knocked her to the ground. Moments later Ronin saw her own sword impaled the ground to the left of her head. She looked up to see her opponent not in an aggressive stance, but offering a hand.

"That's why," Scarlet answered. She was a bit pleased that knowing Alice's fighting style so well had let her score an easy win. She'd long since figured out how to counter the sideways sword swing when she trained with Alice. The reason for the fight was because Scarlet know Ronin responded well to the language of the sword, and the message was clear: if I wanted you dead you would be.

The gamble worked and Ronin accepted Scarlet's hand, as she pulled her to her feet Scarlet asked, "You Ok? I tried to do that as lightly as I could."

"Oui skilled stranger, may I have your name?" Ronin asked as she retrieved her sword.

"I'm The Undying Scarlet."

"A bold name choice."

"I'm like Ronan who…" she turned and saw her brother being relentlessly hugged by his tearful older sister, the elixir ram lay defeated on the side, "looks like he needs saving from his sister," Scarlet chuckled.

"He's alive!" Ronin beamed, "Oh thank goodness, I was worried we might not get Luna back from Andi at the rate she was going." That comment gave Scarlet some unwelcome flashbacks to a certain other archer she knew had gone off the deep end after the death of her best friend.

_The more things change, the more they stay the same_, she sighed as she pulled down her scarf and went to join her other dimensional siblings.

000

"You're crazy!" Spitfire screamed as she dodged a mini missile from one of the drones.

"Do you want to capture one of these things or not?" Sirius countered as she blasted another drone out of existence.

"Your suggesting I grab one of the killer robots that exploud if shit gets real and hold it in place right in front of me," the mech piloting hero yelled back at the lightly dressed flying wolf that was helping her clear the skies. And that was a sentence she had to process now; flying wolf shooting energy beams while dressed in a battle bikini. It was frankly ridiculous and yet here it was.

Sirius saw that they were running out of drones so played the cheating card, "Look Olivia I can drain the energy out of these things but I need a stable connection," Sirius explained while throwing out the heroes real name.

Inside the cockpit, Olivia Dawson's eyes widened, but she didn't get a chance to speak before Bella's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Spitfire do you read? The drone's jam is getting weaker?"

"I copy Bella how are the others?" Spitfire asked while blasting another drone.

"Sergeant Red is alive, saved by mammals who claim to be the Ceartais from another dimension, I have gathered no reason to doubt them. Roar, Mage, Bullet, Andraste and Ronin have defeated their opponents. All enemy pilots were taken alive but no drones have been captured."

Spitfire read the situation on her hands, there was only one drone left and the flying wolf was trying to circle around it. If these mammals had saved her teammate then it was worth taking the now or . Spitfire flew alongside the drone and carefully grabbed it from beneath, slowing down her thrusters in the process. The drone turned its attention to Spitfire and tried to attack her chest and head area, but it never got a chance. Spitfire watched in amazement as the drone's lights flickered and finally shut down, leaving it dead weight in Spitfire's mechanical hands.

Sirius pulled her hand back, having gentle pushed into the drone and drained all of its energy into herself, "Well that worked."

"Was there ever any doubt?" Sirius turned to see the Mage flying up to meet her.

"There's two of you?" Spitfire shouted.

"Yup, we're meeting up at Scarlet and Red's location, come on," the Mage prompted before opening a portal that led to the destroyed gym where Scarlet was.

100 new questions piled into Spitfire's head but she pushed them aside when she saw her teammate alive and well, and followed the two wolves through the portal.

Andraste still had a tight grip on her younger brother but had now roped an unmasked Robyn into the mix as well, "Thank you, thank you," she repeated. Alice had also pulled off her mask and was watching with a bemused smile. Spitfire carefully put down the drone and rushed over, kneeling in front of the smaller three mammals. "Olivia look, it's Robyn, she and her friends saved Ronan!"

"Codenames Andraste!" Spitfire shouted.

"They know who we are boss it's okay," Ronan reassured.

Olivia sighed but reluctantly opened her cockpit to get a better view at the female hybrid her oldest friend was hugging. _Robyn, wait that can't be,_ "As in, your stillborn sister, Robyn?"

"Yup, in my world I was the survivor not Ronan," Robyn explained, already used to shocked faces.

"Ok, I want answers," Olivia demanded.

"Sure thing but it's a long story so lets wait till everyone is here," Robyn offered.

In the meantime Kodi, Clara and Alice gathered up the five enemy fighters and bound them up in a corner, with Alice doing something the wolves didn't recognize with the elixir mammals that she explained disabled the pumps.

The maddening wait finally ended for Olivia when Kiara and Bella showed up back to back, with the former shrinking down before rushing over to embrace Ronan and the latter letting five passengers out. Mage and Bullet were expected but there was also a pink and grey clad archer carrying a young koala, and also, "Chief Wilde!" Olivia called out.

The bunny turned to the alternate version of one of her city's heroes, "Yes and no, I think it's time to do some explaining."

"Yeah I've waited long enough," the younger Kodi griped.

Maiden stepped forward, "Right, first thing to say is that, yes, the six of us are from another dimension, and four us us are members of Team Ceartais back home. We know who that the seven of you are Hannah Savage, Kodi Jones, Ronan Wilde, Luna Wilde, Kiara Priderock, Olivia Dawson and Alice Kirabito," she went around the room. As for the six of us, you already know Judy Wilde, Robyn aka The Undying Scarlet, as in Ronan's dead sister Robyn, Sirius/Clara Bloom, our world's Kodi Jones,"

"Say what!" The young Kodi shouted, his jaw dropping as the older Mage pulled off his mask.

Maiden continued, "The little kid is Aaron, Robyn's son, and I am The Maiden or," she paused to have her mask de-materialize, pull her hood down and disable her voice modifier, "Luna Elise Wilde." Stunned silence filled the room as the two duplicate mammals locked eyes with one another.

AN: and that's the chapter, an action packed arrival to Ronan's world, but just how many differences lay beneath the surface? Next time on Dimensions and Time: histories are exchanged, a reunion of a sort abound, and Robyn sees something disturbing in a mirror.


	5. Chapter 4: Chasing Butterflies

Hey everyone, we're back with another chapter of Dimensions and Time, thank you so much to everyone who followed, faved and reviewed the the last chapter. This chapter has the Luna Wildes of two worlds in the same setting, so they will be referred to by their hero names to avoid confusion. Without any further ado, let's explore Ronan's world!

**Chapter 4: Chasing Butterflies**

It was fortunate that the Team Ceartais of Ronan's world had such a large vehicle, because it needed to transfer a lot of mammals. Before the visitors from another dimension could do more then briefly explain what Ronan had been up to since he disappeared and was presumed dead, the authorities showed up to collect the prisoners. Olivia decided it was best to keep the dimension hopping under wraps and so ushered everyone into Bella while the enemies were collected.

The young Kodi predictably took the driver's seat while Kiara took the passenger seat. Thankfully the seats could be modified to accommodate multiple smaller mammals or one large one. Ronan and his Luna sat behind young Kodi on the drivers side while Clara and her Kodi were behind them. Robyn, Aaron and Alice took the seat behind Kiara and Luna and Judy were behind them. Hannah offered to take the somewhat cramped sideways seats in the back. She was cramped because Olivia had loaded the deactivated drone into Bella first before sliding in the back entrance herself. The armored carrier had been modified to hold the mech suit in place during travel.

"Alright," Olivia spoke up, "we need to get this bad boy back to the Bunker so we can hopefully track down Phelps from it. Until then we're driving and I want some answers, you said you pulled Ronan into your world but HOW?"

"It was Robyn and me working together, sort of," Kodi spoke up. "Robyn can see other dimensions through mirrors, usually other versions of herself, and happened to see Ronan when he was in danger."

"I'd like to know where that power came from," Kiara spoke with an edge in her voice, "and how you two can _fly_!" She pointed to the wolf pair in the back. It was clear the sheer weirdness of the situation was getting to the lioness soldier.

"Short version:," Maiden spoke up, "a very powerful super villain from another dimension unleashed an energy rift in our Zootopia, anyone who made contact got superpowers. He was going to harvest the most useful powers to build an army in his world."

"Hellfire," Olivia seethed, "I trust he was stopped?"

"Yeah but it wasn't easy," Robyn answered. "Anyway Aaron and I got our powers from the initial rift while Clara got hers later."

"The kid has powers?" Olivia started before a pair of goggles started zipping across the cabin, catching everyone's attention. The goggles landed back on Alice's head.

"Yup, I have powers," Aaron smiled, "thanks for letting me borrow those Ms. Alice."

"So well mannered," Alice cooed as she rubbed Aaron's head, she was a bit alarmed at the lack of concern Robyn was showing about having her son next to an assassin, but figured they probably knew her in their world.

"But what about the literal portal I flew through, you did not get that and flight in one package," Olivia looked almost pleading as she looked at Kodi, everyone could see she was trying to figure this out.

"Magic," Kodi gave a one word answer.

"What?" Kiara spoke up.

"Real magic, I learned it in the same dimension the super villain came from," Kodi said with a frank sincerity that seemed alien to the younger mammals.

"Dude, can I learn how to do that?" The young Kodi asked in awe.

"I gave up a year of my life in a sanctum cut off from time to learn magic, you really don't have the means to do that, and I'm honestly not convinced you have the drive for it either."

"Why not?" young Kodi asked his older self.

"Because he's you," Clara answered. The blunt response made the young wolf's ears drop in disappointment.

"I can see how you finally got him to break the player streak," Ronan said with a slight grin.

"Wait," Hannah pointed at Clara, "are you saying that you're Kodi's girlfriend?" Hannah asked. At the combination of cheesy grins and nods the native Ceartais were shocked but happy to learn that _a_ Kodi had broken his bad habits. Young Kodi could not have been more jealous and decidedly avoided looking at the lovely she-wolf in the back of his vehicle.

"Anyway Kodi tried opening a portal in this world through the mirror but it acted weirdly and just linked our worlds instead and I pulled him through, right?" Robyn asked.

Kodi sighed, "That's way oversimplifying it, but yes more or less." Kodi decided to leave the fact that _he _was still unsure of all the details out for now.

"Well I don't care about the details, they saved Ronan's life," Andraste looked Maiden in the eyes, "thank you for taking care of my brother, I, I don't want to think, I nearly lost myself to…" Andraste petered out and Ronan pulled her into another hug.

"Your welcome Luna," Maiden replied happily.

"And don't worry about Andi, the same thing happened with my Lu the first time I got shot in the head," at the shocked expressions on the other team Robyn sheepishly added, "uh, you can survive that Ronan, you'll just go savage for a minute or so while your brain puts itself back together."

"That's...good to know, yes that's good to know, not that I enjoy thinking about it," Ronan's awkward look was mirrored by the rest of his team. Even Ronin looked weirded out by the casual mention of a rather gruesome detail.

Hannah was the one who broke the silence, "I must say that this is all so weird, your world sounds so different. Who else is on your team?"

"Kion for one," young Kodi answered.

A multitude of _whats _greated that statement, none the least of which was from Kiara.

Maiden picked up the thread, "Our Ceartais started the same way as yours: as a bad idea by the M.M. Gang." That got some looks but no one interrupted. When the wave hit, Robyn, Hannah and Kodi decided to use their gifts to help others and Olivia brought them in."

"That part lines up with us," Olivia stated, grinning at her younger teammate's heroism.

"Anyway, our Kiara was missing so Phelps went after Kion and put the elixir pump in him, but he escaped and the team picked him up." The forlorn looks on the other team told the visitors how desperately they wished the same was true in their world.

"And that's how the original new Ceartais got started, Luna, Alice and Clara came later." Robyn tried to steer things away from the depressing topic.

"I'm on the team?" Alice asked in surprise, which was reflected on the faces of the others.

Robyn grinned at her seat mate, "Yeah, she goes by Yueri. Who do you think taught me?"

Alice grinned as the pieces came together, "It would seem I was a good teacher," Alice realized why Robyn had read her moves so easily, "Ghost, it's a good name."

"So if I may ask a question now, how is Kiara on the team? In our world a building collapsed on her during the earthquake and she survived with near total amnesia thanks to the elixir pump." Luna directed the question at said lioness.

Kiara looked alarmed at her counterpart's fate, but turned to her leader, "Should I take this one Olivia, or you?"

"It's your story Kiara," Olivia replied.

"Ok, so I'm assuming you know about me and Camelot?" At the affirmative nods she continued.

000

_2 years ago, the night of the Wave._

"Kiara!" Spitfire gasped, just as the ground began to shake.

The look of puzzlement on Kiara's face was replaced quickly with panic, as the buildings around them started to sway. Kiara saw Spitfire looking around and saw an opportunity to escape. She threw a flashbang at Spitfire's feet then darted towards the exit gates. Spitfire was distracted by the quake, but her sweep of the area happened to take her view in Kiara's direction as the grenade was about to land. She quickly crushed the annoyance underfoot and the flash went nowhere. "Oh no you don't," Spitfire snarled as she rose into the sir and gave chase.

Kiara wasn't even at the gates when she heard Spitfire coming up on her, she spoke into the mic on her lapel, "Priderock to Roundtable, this place is falling apart, I need extraction now!" but before she could get a reply a building beside her began to collapse. Kiara tried to outrun it but realized she wasn't going to make it. Reaching for her last resort she began to transform just to survive when a hard force impacted her from behind and sent her tumbling free of the collapsing rubble.

The now transformed, and naked, Kiara quickly looked around and saw Spitfire sprawled on the ground nearby. The mysterious robot that somehow knew her had taken an enormously risky dive to save her life. Kiara weighed her options as the robot began to push itself up: she was alone, had no means of getting in touch with Camelot, and this robot knew her by her first name. She decided to err on the side of caution.

Spitfire was lifted from the ground by the towering lioness and had its arms pinned to its side by a gigantic right hand. "The only reason you're in one piece is because that dive would have saved me if I couldn't do this, so start talking: how do you know me, why are you here, and why did you save me?" Despite her gratitude Kiara needed answers and settled for somewhat hollow intimidation.

It was impossible to read Spitfire's body language, with it being a robot, so Kiara had no idea what was going on inside the motionless robot's digital head. "I saved you because that's what I do, and I'm here to retrieve something that was stolen from me."

"How vague and nondescript, you didn't answer the first question," Kiara replied while applying more pressure to the torso. "I could just crush you, bring the remains back and get the answers that way Mr. Robot."

"I'm a girl!" Spitfire shouted before she could catch herself.

Kiara's eyebrows were raised by that comment, "You're saying this is a mech suit I'm holding? Then I can just rip off the limbs and bring you in."

"Kiara!"

"How do you know my name!?" She roared.

A moment of silence passed before the mech replied, "Take your hands off the chest so I can open it." The lioness complied, but was completely stunned when she saw a familiar scotish mouse staring back at her.

"Kiara, why do you have the phone I traced from the bastards who stole _my _elixir pump from _my _lab in Scotland?" The mouse pressed, hiding her fear completely.

_No_, the lioness thought, _not her_.

"Kiara, why do _you_ have my elixir pump and serum in your back," Olivia continued in a firmer voice.

_No._

"Kiara, why is my _medical treatment device_ being worn by a fucking _soldier_!" Olivia screamed.

"No," Kiara moaned out loud.

"No, fucking no, no what Kiara? Are you saying that one of my oldest friends isn't using the medical device that she stole from me as a goddamn weapon!?"

"No," Kiara answered.

"Are you going to kill me?" Olivia accused.

"NO!" Kiara yelled back.

"You sure, because if you don't want me to dig up whatever terrible secrets you've buried you'd better get rid of me now," Olivia stated with seemingly no regard for her own safety.

Kiara responded not with words, but by gently lowering the mech her friend piloted to the ground and letting go. She knelt down on one knee before the mech so they were at eye level. Kiara struggled to find the right words to say, she knew the elixir pump that was letting her walk again was stolen from Olivia, but rationalized that her friend would've given it to her if she could be told everything. Facing the sad and wrathful face of her friend made that excuse feel even more pitiful then it already was. She settled for simplicity, "I'm sorry Olivia."

"For what? The list isn't short," some of the anger had left Olivia's voice but there was definitely still an edge to it.

Kiara sighed, "Stealing the elixir pump, nearly ripping this mech suit apart, but I can explain."

"Forgive me if I'm doubtful," Olivia barbed.

"Not justify, explain," Kiara reasoned.

Olivia didn't respond, she instead drew herself back into the Spitfire mech, "A tsunami has hit the city."

"What!"

"I have to go save as many as I can, your phone is intact, go get to your family and let them know your ok...and put some clothes on," Olivia said, making a suddenly bashful Kiara remember she wasn't wearing anything. "You said you can explain, you have ten days to get in touch with me and do it, I will have all the info I need by then, stay safe," Olivia didn't wait for a reply as she rocketed off into the night sky.

000

"It only took her six days, I was impressed," Olivia picked up as Kiara finished.

"That's almost the same as what happened in our world," Luna observed, "but our Spitfire didn't get there fast enough to save her, hence getting bonked on the head hard enough for total amnesia."

"Anyway," Kiara resumed, not happy to hear how close she'd come to a worse fate, "I only spoke with Ray before I met Olivia, he said I should scout out her threat and jeez did she mean it."

"Nana is the best at what she does, and what she does is hacking," Andraste explained.

"To cut a long story with a lot of back and forth short: I let Kiara keep the pump but got everything else back from Camelot along with an in-person apology from Director Hill."

"Wait, Hill, as in Maria Hill?" Robyn asked.

"Uh, yes." Kiara answered. Unaware the visiting heroes had never learned the identity of Camelot's leader in their world.

"Guess that jerk is punchable in every dimension," Kodi observed, "Is that why you left them Kiara?"

Kiara shook her head, "Only tangentially, the real reason I'm technically off duty is because of what happened to Kion."

Ronan jumped in before any questions could be asked, "Phelps knew he landed himself in trouble with several governments thanks to the elixir theft and was trying to money his way out of it. To do that he needed something to sell, but he lost most of his elixir pump information to the wave so he needed an alternative. He spent those first eight months trying to go after Kiara or sending assassins after Ceartais after we got big. Luna rejoined the team and Kiara started joining us on patrols as added protection. Anyway, after eight months of failure he was getting desperate and Dad was closing the legal vice on him. Unfortunately he still had one ace up his corporate sleeve."

Kiara took over, "Phelps still had a completed elixir pump from before the wave, he just didn't have the ability to make more without reverse engineering it and without anyone who knows how to build it properly, he wasn't willing to take it apart. At least we assume that's why he waited that long, some of this is guess work."

"Let me guess," Clara spoke up, "he went after Kion because he's the most similar mammal to Kiara and he was desperate enough to risk his one pump on that?"

"He kidnapped my brother in broad daylight, drugged him, brainwashed him, and stuck that pump in his back," Kiara only got angrier as she went on, "he set him loose on the team one night and they barely survived."

"And they captured my original mech while it covered the other's escape," Olivia lamented, "he reverse engineered a whole mess of mechs from it, that monster literally built his army on my stolen tech!"

The visitors took in the story of Phelps atrocities with wide eyes, in their world he'd always been second fiddle to Fuli, and his assassin plan had backfired when Ronin started working with the team. Hearing just how monsterous he could've been put things in perspective. "What happened with Kion?" Luna asked, aware that her teammates didn't know he had at least been rescued.

"Olivia put Kiara through a lot of tests to find out how to beat an elixir mammal," Ronan explained, "we ganged up on him and Kiara was able to get him pinned. He's...getting better but fighting through the brainwashing hasn't been easy."

"Believe us, we know," Clara solemnly stated.

"How?" an intrigued Alice asked.

Maiden answered, "Ronan already knows some of this, but we had to deal with a terrorist cult called the Drowned in our world. Phelps was a high ranking member and their source of weapons and money. They didn't have that many members so they used brainwashing to turn random mammals on the street into completely loyal agents that could be anyone; shop owners, cops, MCB, hundreds of them, even children towards the end."

That gots looks of outrage and many a barely restrained curse, save for Alice who just did it in her native tongue. "What happened to all of them, the children?" Alice implored

Judy finally spoke up again, "All of them were captured or killed as far as we know, there's been a 50% complete recovery rate with enough time, another 45% making partial recoveries that need to be monitored and sadly some of them still haven't come back." Judy looked down, "two of my own cops, Corona and Anders, tried to kill Rojek and I, Corona was deemed clear but had to retire, and Anders still refuses to do anything more intense than radio dispatcher duty. She was valedictorian of her class but they nearly ruined her."

"What was the point of all of this?" young Kodi barked from the driver's seat, "they had to have been trying to achieve something."

"They're ultimate goal was a chemical attack that, as they put it, would've tested all of Zootopia the same way the wave did, and hopefully kill anyone even remotely wealthy because that psychopath hated that," at the aghast looks Judy sneared, "What, you were expecting something sane?"

Ronan sighed, "Well at least you stopped them and Phelps died right?" The latter parts earned the visitors some envious looks.

Maiden frowned but answered, "Yes, the Drowned killed Phelps right before the final attack for reasons we'll never know, and we did stop them, but not without...a sacrifice."

"Wait you mean," Ronan began, getting an affirmative nod from Robyn.

"What?" Hannah asked, "Ronan what do you know?"

"There were four bombs," Judy recounted, "two were disabled, Bella used her original chassis to get a third to an isolated location, so don't go saying she isn't a hero."

"Thank you Chief Wilde," the AI spoke up, earning brief grins from the natives.

"But the last bomb couldn't be disabled, so Marian and Robin had to blow it up manually," Judy delivered the news of her in laws demise, getting numerous dismayed looks from the others, especially Andraste.

No one spoke until young Kodi had a realization, "Then you might want to get ready for a reunion, cause those two will be right there to greet us." Each visitor other then Clara mentally prepared for how they would handle this.

000

The underground bunker Bella pulled into was cavernous, bigger than the original bunker. Ronan briefly explained that the original bunkers location might have been compromised when Phelps captured the Spitfire mech. They didn't know for sure but it wasn't a risk they were willing to take. The new bunker was a preexisting but abandoned part of Zootopia's underground that Mayor Wilde had secretly approved the use of. It was a single floor room that went out in a near perfect circle and had been refurbished by Marian, Robin and some Camelot personnel. There weren't any walls or rooms aside from a shower area, but there was a functioning medical area, a garage, and a main computer terminal that looked like it was lifted straight from the old bunker. A central area had a small kitchen area with multiple tables.

None of that mattered to the occupants of Bella as their focus was on three mammals eagerly awaiting the carrier's return. Ray Kamino was there, along with a very much alive Marian and Robin Wilde. The local heroes got out first and Ronan was immediately wrapped in a tight hug from Marian. He looked a little uncomfortable at first, but sighed and reciprocated the embrace.

"You, Ronan we though…" Marian mumbled.

"I know Marian, it's ok," Ronan responded in a curt manner, after a few seconds he continued, "you can let go now." The embrace ended though Marian still looked grieved.

"Will you be okay to work on the drone Maid?" Ray asked, having walked over to the rear to see Spitfire unload the depowered drone. "Take some time if you need it."

"Thank you Kamino, but I'll be fine, I just want to see these 'other dimensional mammals'," Marian replied, the update from Bella and some news coverage had given her the basics, but that wasn't nearly enough.

"We at least need to thank this 'Ronan from another world'," Robin added, "he saved our grandson."

Some of the local Ceartais members looked surprised, "Bella you didn't tell them?" Andraste asked.

"I thought it best to let this one be a surprise," the carrier replied.

"Surprise? We've got mammals from a parallel universe, what can top that?" Marian asked in exasperation.

"Uh, hi," a nervous voice grabbed their attention. The Undying Scarlet exited Bella and stood before the two in full custom, before pulling her scarf and hood down to reveal her face, much to their shock, "My name is Robyn," she greeted.

"Nana, grandpa, meet my little sister from another dimension," Andraste announced. It took the elder foxes half a minute to process this, but just as they started to move forward a young voice called out.

"Are they my great-grandparents?" Aaron smiled sunnily from Judy's arms.

"Yes sweetie, these are grandpa Nick's parents," Judy explained.

Robin sat down right on the ground and Marian let her arms fall to her sides.

"We will get started with the drone," Ray announced as Kiara lifted the machine and started walking towards the lab area, "join us when you're ready Marian." Kiara, Ray and Olivia walked off.

"Should I even come out?" Maiden asked, she was the last one still in the carrier, "I don't know how much more they can take."

Ronan smiled, "No putting it off Luna, come on out."

"Luna," Marian muttered, but her hands shot to her mouth and Robin gasped at the sight of Maiden's outfit, the one based on Marian's maid outfit. Maiden marched in front of her alternate grandmother and stood there for a minute. "What is all of this," Marian gestured at the uniform.

"My name is Maiden, it's in honor of you, or at least the you from my world," The elder Wilde couple's eyes widened at that revelation, and the implied fate of their counterparts.

"You named yourself...after me?" Marian's face showed a mix of surprise, horror, and confusion most of all.

"Yes," Maiden confirmed, before stepping forward and hugging Marian, "there's probably a lot more to say, but for now it's complicated will do."

Marian returned the embrace and sniffled, "I know this can't be easy, if we died in your world then there must be some things you never got to say, if either of us can help, just ask." Robin nodded in agreement.

"In that case," Judy handed Aaron to his mother and walked over to Robin and helped the fox to his feet. "I have a lot of complicated feelings about you two, you died as heroes in our world, but you caused your own family so much grief."

"We, we really are sorry, Robin muttered.

"Then would you mind helping me scratch an itch?" Judy asked evenly.

Robin gulped, "Sure."

He barely finished speaking before Judy punched him hard in the face. Robin fell flat on his back. "I did say that I still owe my Robin that."

"Damn Chief, you scary," Kodi said.

"I didn't become first bunny police Chief by being soft," Judy smiled at the compliment, before walking over to help Robin back up. At his nervous look Judy smiled softly, "Despite everything it is good to see you two again."

Robin was helped into a sitting position by Judy and Marian, when he looked up he was greeted by a smiling koala bear in the arms of his otherworldly granddaughter, "Hello, I'm Aaron."

Despite the bleeding Robin couldn't help but smile at the happy kid before him, "Hi Aaron, I'm Robin."

"You have mom's name," Aaron happily said.

"I was named after this guy Aaron," Robyn explained.

"And it's wonderful to meet you Robyn, but can someone please grab me a towel or some napkins?" Robin was struggling to stop the blood from his nose.

He got his request when a napkin dispenser from the food area floated over to him, "Hear you go," Aaron said while placing the dispenser on the ground. Much to the shock of the two older mammals.

"So Robyn, if Aaron is your son, then who is the dad?" Marian asked while helping her husband clot the bleeding.

"Oh yes, tell us," Hannah excitedly pushed, "Is it someone we know?" Her question got a chuckle out of those in the know. "What, what?"

Robyn stood up straight, "My last name is Wilde-Savage."

This predictably caused another chorus of surprised reactions and a lamentation from Ray that they weren't getting started on the tracking anytime soon.

Robyn suddenly looked concerned, "Uh, I didn't just out you, did I?"

Hannah was shocked out of her reverie, "What? No I came out before the wave but... married?"

"For five years," Judy cooed.

"You married at age 16!?" Ronan gasped. Robyn responded by showing off her wedding ring, earning a gasp from Marian. The ring had belonged to her after all.

Thankfully the commotion quieted down and Ronan suggested moving the discussion to the food area. It was close enough to the terminal that Marian and Olivia could still hear the discussion while they started work on the drone. Bella announced that some more Camelot personnel were escorting the Wildes and Savages to the Bunker and Ronan braced himself for another round of relief hugging.

Questions continued to fly back and forth. Young Kodi and Kiara wanted to know about Kion's son and girlfriend. Andraste wanted to know how Robyn and Hannah had started dating. All parties compared notes on where they were the night of the wave. Alice was interested in her other self's new persona and everyone was shocked to hear about how she lost her arm. Eventually the parents arrived and Ronan and Luna went to intercept them and spare the visitors another round of explaining things.

While the parents disembarked with several taller mammals, Robyn turned to Hannah and Kodi and asked if they were childhood friends with Ronan the same way she was, Kodi was interested as well. Both were pleased to hear that they were and the four of them shared some childhood stories. Robyn was pleased to hear that Robbie's description of Ronan as "such a little snitch when he was younger" was accurate in this world.

Soon enough the parents appeared with Luna. This world's Nick, Judy, Jack and Skye all looked at the assembled mammals with a mix of awe and confusion. Ronan was hanging back with one of the taller mammals. Judy stepped away from the table to greet the four newcomers, who all looked stunned at the identical copy of Chief Wilde approaching them. "Judy Wilde, Chief Of Police, Precinct One, nice to meet you," she extended a hand to her other self.

The other Judy took a moment to process the scene in front of her, but managed to compose herself. She shook her twin's hand and replied, "Judy Wilde, Chief of Police, Precinct One, nice to meet you too."

"This is the weirdest thing I've ever seen," Nick proclaimed to no one in particular.

Visiting Judy chuckled, "Oh come on Mr. Mayor, you can't let a little dimension travel weird you out."

"My wife's voice is coming out of another mammal!"

"I think it's more accurate to say there's more than one of your wife Nick," Jack tried to reassure his old friend.

"Not helping," Nick moaned, putting his hands in his face.

"Then maybe a new face can help," a voice called out, Nick heard his wife gasp and looked up to see a female bunny fox hybrid staring back at him. It was one thing to hear that his dead daughter was alive in another world, it was another thing entirely to have her standing right in front of him. Nick stood there in silence.

"Go on, I got to hug yours," One Judy urged the other. She took the que and hugged her daughter.

"Robbie," she weakly said, "I can't believe…"

"I know Mom," that got a sniffle, "but it's actually Robyn, Robyn Wilde-Savage," and that got a gasp from the Savages. When Judy pulled back Robyn showed off her wedding picture and quickly found it snatched by the flummoxed Savages.

It didn't take much time for the newcomers to be guided to the tables and the questions to resume. Unsurprisingly the adults wanted to know all about their children in the other world. After a round of embarrassing children stories, the native Judy cleared her throat, "I really should've said this sooner, but thank you Robyn and Kodi for saving our son's life."

"Yes," Nick agreed, "I don't think we can ever repay you for that."

"I just hope that drone can finally let us end this madness," Skye stated as she looked over to Marian at her station, "Clara right? You've done us a great service today."

"I can't imagine what it's been like," Clara said, "as terrible as the Drowned were, we only had them less than half a year, it's closing in on two years of this for you guys."

"I have never wanted another mammal dead as much as I want Phelps dead," local Judy spoke with pure venom, "especially after today."

"Agreed," Nick stated.

A new voice cut in, "It's enough to make me wish that we were never rescued from that stupid boat." Robyn, Kodi, Maiden and Judy's ears all shot up, they _knew_ that voice. Ronan rejoined the group with a female cheetah in her early twenties by his side. She wore plain black pants and a white T-shirt, along with a grey trench coat that vaguely resembled a cloak. "Just think how much better things would be if we were just left to starve out at sea."

"Fuli, please don't go there," Nick pleaded, confirming the newcomers identify.

"He's right sweetie, you had no way of knowing," Judy reassured the sad looking cheetah.

_Sweetie_, several of the visitors thought.

Ronan looked at the guests and spoke up, "Forgive the unusual introduction everyone, this is my girlfriend; Fuli Duma."

Fuli quickly regarded the guests, "I'm sorry about that, I swear I'm not always that dour, I really can't thank you enough for bringing my boyfriend home."

Most of the visiting mammals were stunned by the sudden appearance of one of their greatest enemies, fortunately Clara has gotten herself together by then, "Oh it's no worry, but would you mind elaborating?"

Fuli nodded, "Yeah you deserve to know, I was working a rock bottom job on this casino ship called the Crimson Mermaid when the wave hit, the ship got washed out to sea and stranded there. We were trapped for almost a week before Olivia chanced upon us." Fuli let out a sigh, "One of the mammals trapped there was Phelps, I had no idea he was such a monster, I swear I would've tossed him overboard to drown if I did."

Robyn desperately tried to process how to get out of this conversation without revealing that her Fuli was a psychopathic monster. "That's, uh yeah that sucks, I will say you weren't what I pictured when I heard Ronan had a girlfriend." _Stupid, that just made it worse!_

Help came from an unlikely place: Aaron spoke up, "That makes sense, Aunt Luna is married to Aunt Alice but I don't think they would picture that, would you?" Aaron asked innocently.

A moment passed before nearly every native mammal yelled, "WHAT!"

"Luna and Alice?" Ronan stammered.

"Married?" Alice asked for clarification, being on Ceartais was easy enough to believe but her other self was married!

"But, but I'm not inter," Luna struggled to process the information. Thoughts of her boyfriend going through her head.

"No offense of course Alice," Ronan corrected, hoping he hadn't offended his comrade.

"How did this happen?" Kiara asked.

"Your ok with this!?" local Judy asked visiting Judy, which visiting Judy found understandable since Alice was an assassin after all.

"What about Rojek?" Nick asked.

"I'm not even gay!" Luna exclaimed.

"Actually you'd be bi," Hannah corrected.

"So I'm right!" Aaron cheered, and then shot his mother a quick wink.

_Cheeky_ _little hero_, Robyn though. Her son's quick thinking had bailed them out of that one. As she looked past her son she saw this world's Nick reflected on a currently blank screen at the computer station. It blinked out and was replaced by her dad in the Bunker, his back turned, but the image lasted less than a second before what looked like static started to distort the vision beyond recognition.

Everyone else was still focused on the Luna and Alice reveal or relief over dodging the Fuli question, but Robyn was suddenly worried something was up with her powers, and their means of going home.

AN: Marian and Robin are alive! But so are Phelps and Fuli, except the cheetah isn't evil this time! Our heroes are starting to see the similarities and differences between the two worlds, and they'd best get comfortable because it turns out you can't go home so easily. Next time on Dimensions and Time: The team realize they can't just go home, we get a cross dimension sleepover and some unpleasant truths are revealed.


	6. Chapter 5: Stranded in Another Dimension

Hello everyone, and welcome to the chapter of Dimensions and Time that went through the most revisions so far. Still I'm satisfied with the final product and I hope all of you are too. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, followed and favorited the story, and let's get going!

**Chapter 5: Stranded in Another Dimension**

"Just give me a straight answer, are we stuck here?" Maiden asked while looking at a mirror full of bizarre blue-gray static.

"Yes, but the good news is that there is a precedent for this sort of thing happening," Clara explained to the assembled mammals. Robyn had explained the oddity with her power in hopes that her professor teammate would have some answers.

"You are an expert on dimensional travel?" Alice asked, speaking for several of the local mammals.

"Not an expert," Clara clarified, "but this isn't our first time roughing it in another world."

Kodi followed his girlfriend's lead, "Yeah, the last dimension we visited was packed with superheroes and villains, so they knew their shenanigans like dimensional travel. Clara worked with some of them after she escaped from Doom's ship."

Judy starred at the blurred out screen before her, "So what is happening Professor? And what can we do about it?"

"Remember there is space between dimensions, like where the Cauldron was hiding. Well that space isn't empty and sometimes something can block travel between dimensions."

"Wait," Kodi spoke up, "Why did we had to walk through this 'between dimensions' place when we went to The Champion's world but when we came here we just fell through?"

Clara put a hand to her chin, "This is purely guesswork, but I imagine Robyn's mirror powers provide a more precise link then Nightcrawler'd did."

"But what can we do about it?" Maiden asked in a pleading tone.

"Without the knowledge or technology to affect dimensions there's nothing to do but wait it out, which can take anywhere from a few hours to days to happen." She delivered the last bit nervously, knowing her friends wouldn't like the answer.

"Days," Robyn lamented, thinking of what that wait would do to Hannah.

"Nick is gonna be worried sick," Judy feared.

Maiden sighed, "I told Alice I'd be home for dinner."

"Robyn will just have to keep an eye on a mirror at all times," Kodi tried to stay on task.

Kiara stepped forward, "Okay, I don't know squat about this dimension travel business, but it sounds like you could be stuck here for a while, so we need to prepare for that."

"I have an idea," Robin spoke up, "Get Robyn one of those hands held mirrors, like from a small make-up kit or something. That way she can keep an eye on a mirror without having to stay in one place."

"That's a really good idea," Clara observed, impressed by the old thief's quick solution to a very strange situation.

"So, just so I'm clear: you guys can use basically any mirror for your dimension hopping thing right?" Young Kodi asked.

"I think so," Robyn answered.

"So there's no reason you guys have to stay here right?" Young Kodi waved his arms to indicate the chamber, "cause I'm gonna tell ya, this place is not meant for overnight stays."

"Can confirm," Kiara and Ronan said in unison. Both knowing the best this place had were some cots.

Judy sighed, "I hope it doesn't come to that, but we should be prepared for the worst."

"Food is ready," Hannah called out from the small kitchen area. She and her parents had prepared some simple but warm sandwiches and set them up at the tables. Everyone was very hungry by that point and put the conversation on hold. If nothing else it gave them something to do while they waited.

Marian rejoined the crowd after some time working on the drone, "Alright, there is information on the drone, but it's heavily encrypted so it'll take at least 12 hours for Bella and I to get through it."

Kiara growled, "Phelps could relocate in that time."

"Not in a hurry or with any stealth" Ray reassured, "and that's assuming he knows the drone was captured."

"We'll only know if we find his base anyway," Skye reasoned, "until then all we can do is wait. So, what's going on with our guests?" Skye gestured to the mammals in question.

"Cutting out the techno-babble, basically we're stuck here for an indeterminate amount of time," Clara informed those present.

"I hate to impose," Judy said, "but we need a place to stay."

"Done," Young Kodi spoke up, drawing everyone's attention. "Just got the go ahead from my folks, you can crash at my place, you know? The big mansion." Young Kodi was trying very hard not to sound smug. There were plenty of groans regardless.

"Can't believe you didn't think of that," Hannah said to young Kodi.

"I honestly forgot that I used to live in a mansion," Kodi stated.

"How do you forget something like that?" Young Kodi sounded aghast.

Kodi shrugged, "I live in a decent apartment now, ever since Robyn and I opened the Arrow Garage."

Robin nearly did a spit take, "The what!?"

"The auto shop Kodi and I own," Robyn answered casually.

"They were self sustaining and paid off their loans within a year of graduating high school," Judy beamed at her daughter's success.

"Owning your own business _that _soon after high school, not bad you two," Nick praised. Then his smile lessened, "I just wish this mess we're in wasn't cutting into our kid's futures so much."

"Some plans got trampled?" Maiden asked.

"Mine mostly," Ronan lamented.

"Our son wanted to be a cop," Nick said with a sad pride in his voice, "but now that his power is so well known, one injury on the force would blow his secret identity."

"Well hopefully we can start putting this mess behind us tomorrow," Olivia said, "until then, meeting adjourned."

The groups split up after the impromptu meeting. Marian and Olivia joined Bella to see if they could speed up the hacking process on the drone. Nick, Jack and Skye had to leave to return to work to deal with the fallout of the latest attack. The resident Judy went to grab some supplies for the guests. Kiara left with Ray to visit her brother in the hospital. Soon Kodi found that he and Clara were the only one's left at the tables. Robin and Hannah were doing weapon maintenance, Young Kodi was entertaining Aaron with magic tricks while Judy observed, the two Luna's were having a private chat, and Robyn and Alice were having some sparing practice while Ronan and Fuli watched on.

Finally having a moment of relative peace for the first time since Ronan was pulled into their world, the events of the day caught up with Kodi and he sagged down, lying his head on the table. "Feeling alright there handsome?" Clara asked.

Kodi sighed, "Just feeling a bit overwhelmed, first major mission as team leader and all, but hey, you did great today."

"Why thank you," Clara beamed at her boyfriend's praise. When Kodi looked back down Clara decided to cut to the chase, "so does this have anything to do with why you looked so down in the dumps when you picked me up from my office?"

Kodi didn't answer for a moment before looking over to the training fight going on, "I went to talk with Robyn about the Ronin trap thing after work today."

"So it went badly," Clara didn't need to ask, "what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know Clara, I poured my heart out and she just shut me out, it felt like she already knew how the talk was gonna end."

"She's probably heard a lot of this from Hannah already," Clara tried to think from Robyn's point of view.

"Yeah sure but," Kodi paused, remembering to keep his voice low, "I apologized for almost everything we did, I told her I hated seeing her like that, and it still did nothing."

"Well, actions speak louder than words is a saying for a reason." Clara paused, trying to think of an example. "When we first met your pathetic attempt at flirting was pretty off putting but you going to help Sasha was what got us together in the first place," she smiled in remembrance of the first time she saw Kodi's better nature.

Kodi gave a smile at the happy memories, but quickly realized where Clara was going, "But with Robyn it's the opposite."

"You can apologize all you want, but you guys are the ones who hurt her, and if I'm being honest, that rather dismissive attitude all of you took at that meeting really made it feel like you didn't care about her," Clara delivered the honest truth.

Kodi put his muzzle in his paws, "So now what? I don't want the group to fall apart and I'm leading it now!"

"Live by your apology, time will do the rest," Clara reassured.

Kodi said nothing, instead he watched Robyn and Alice's latest session draw to a close, "Can't believe she wants to hang out with Alice."

"Maybe she likes having an Alice she can talk to without the baggage," Clara winced as Alice hit the mat, "or maybe she just likes having an excuse to beat up an Alice."

"No reason it can't be both," Kodi chuckled before turning to look at the two Luna's. They were far off from everyone else, "Have to imagine that conversation is some heavy shit."

000

"Ronan found out about Andraste when he was eleven!" Maiden had to struggle to keep her voice down. "How?"

"Well Ronan's always wanted to be like mom, and part of that was his junior detective phase," Andraste explained with a nostalgic smile, "always sticking his nose around looking for problems to solve. When John died, he noticed a lot of weird things all at once: him dying so suddenly, the cremation, Nana and Grandpa being so skittish, me being so depressed, and all of that going on at the same time the business with Chen went down." Maiden was impressed that Ronan had noticed something was up at such a young age, even if he hadn't put anything conclusive together.

"So he confronted me about all of it, and I told him everything." Andraste finally paused to let Maiden react, but the pink clad vixen stayed silent. "He just hugged me and wanted to make sure I was okay."

"Our siblings love us, but how did that work going forward?" Maiden asked, not able to see how the secret was kept.

"I swore him to secrecy, and keeping that from Mom and Dad kind of messed him up, but he was more concerned about me," Andraste explained remorsefully, "he was so relieved when we finally just told them who we were."

"Wow, that actually happened? In our world Mom ripped Robyn's mask off." Maiden winced upon remembering that unhappy meeting.

"Oh my, I can't imagine that went well. Mom and Dad were mad enough with us as is, even with Ronan being as angry as he was." At Maiden's startled expression Andraste explained, "At first he was just mad at Nana, Grandpa and Olivia for making me sad, but it just got worse as he got older and understood more."

"Even Olivia, is it because he sees her as a bystander?" Maiden recalled Olivia's own guilt for not doing enough about her anger.

"Yes, it's why he wants to take over the team someday."

Maiden though for a moment about that revelation. What little she'd seen of Ronan's game face back in the store was definitely commanding. "Since Ronan can never be a cop, is leading Ceartais his way of compensating?"

"Yes, but it's really more about getting Ceartais away from its founders, the 'bad place' as you called it."

Before the conversation could go any further a voice called out, "Alright, we're ready to go when you are," the local Judy had returned and had six small travel bags by her side. As the various groups started to move to meet her, Maiden put a gentle hand on Andraste's shoulder, "Whatever ends up happening, just be glad you had someone there to support you like he did, I went to some dark places out of guilt and i'm betting Andi wasn't nearly as persistent a problem for you as she was for me."

"Of course," Andraste smiled, "now go help chararone a cross dimensions sleepover."

Maiden looked over to see Robyn trying to use a car mirror to see their home world but just got more static, _Looks like we're spending the night here after all, i'm sorry Alice. _Maiden's thoughts were centered on her family back home, she had to imagine Bella had contacted them by now.

000

A police cruiser and a pick-up truck cruised down the streets of Zootopia on there way to the Jones family mansion. They would make a quick stop at Fuli's workplace so she could grab some personal items she'd left behind in her haste to check in on Ronan. Neither vehicle could fit all the mammals going so they had to carpool. Fuli's truck carried Ronan, Robyn, Aaron, Judy and Maiden while local Judy's cruiser carried the rest.. Local Judy had also provided all the visitors with a small backpack with a change of clothes for going out in public, as well as simple pajamas and dental care products. The only unique addition was a handheld makeup kit for Robyn so she could always have a mirror on her person.

"I know you're worried about getting home, but staring at that screen all the time will just make things take longer," Fuli called from the driver's seat. Robyn looked up from her new portable mirror to see everyone's eyes on her.

"Sorry, just worried about Hannah," Robyn explained.

"Alice, Dad and her are probably climbing the walls by now," Maiden lamented.

Ronan nodded from the shotgun seat, "Every couple in the family split up, that's just unlucky."

Rather then let the unhappy subject linger, Judy asked the question on everyone from her world's minds, "Speaking of couples…"

"You want to know how Fuli and I got together," Ronan cut off the obvious question with a smile.

"You have to know we're curious," Maiden said, glad that someone else had broached the subject.

Fuli grinned, "I wish our story was as exciting as all of yours, but the truth is that we just met while doing volunteer work at the wavetown in Sherwood. We had our first date one month before things went crazy with Phelps."

"How'd you end up in Sherwood?" Robyn asked, looking for another avenue.

"It was one of the safer areas of the city after the wave hit, " Ronan explained, "Olivia saved 151 mammals from that boat and she wasn't gonna just toss them to the wind."

Maiden smiled at that, both at her friend's heroism in this world and that Ronan's grudge didn't stop him from giving credit where it was due.

"I'll never forget it," Fuli said with certainty, "we were stranded for five days, then this machine straight out of a sci-fi movie lands on the boat. It was a black and dark green insect themed mech suit, but at that moment you could have convinced me it was a literal angel."

"Well look who's getting poetic on us," Ronan teased.

"Oh hush Ronnie," Fuli playfully swatted her boyfriend. "Anyway we're here," Fuli said as the two cars pulled up to a large warehouse, "welcome to the Sherwood community relief center."

"It used to be in the center of the wave town, but ever since that mostly emptied they moved the production side of things to this building," Ronan explained. Judy, young Kodi and Robyn stayed in the truck to avoid confusion, but the rest of the visitors were curious about this new center.

The inside of the building was filled with tables and boxes of supplies for the production of care packages. There weren't many mammals left in it, indicating it was already close to closing. Maiden was taking the scene in when a voice called out, "Hey Miss Luna," Maiden turned and was startled to see Bunga, the badger that had been one of Fuli's highest officers in the drowned. The last time she'd seen him he tried to rip her throat out, and here he was smiling and happy. "Ah, it's great to see you again, you've been cooped up in that hospital for months."

Maiden grasped for something to say and settled for, "It's good to see you too Bunga."

"You okay Miss Luna, you seem a little out of it," Bunga asked with concern.

"It's just been a long day," Luna went for a common answer.

Bunga tilted his head, "Jeez Miss Luna, if you're saying that, it must have been something else."

"Let's just say it involved Phelps latest attack," Phelps tried to end the talk.

"Oh that's it, oh I wish I'd gone for his jugular when i had the chance, but hey, Bastee and Larna are here too, you gotta say hi to them." He didn't leave a chance to respond before he ran off.

Maiden turned to the amused faces of her companions, "Next time, please help."

"Sorry," Fuli laughed, "Our Luna is a hero to my friends for leading the rescue effort, and getting our terrible boss arrested."

The situation became more manageable from there as a hippo and a pygmy goat came to great the group as well. Maiden recognized the hippo as Bashtee; Fuli's other second in command, but the goat named Larna was new to her. Thankfully the locals took pity on Luna and did most of the talking.

Clara was finding the whole thing amusing and heartening, but her peace was shattered by an eerily familiar irritated voice, "Seriously!? I go to take a dump and all of you up and bail on me, we've still got to close shop here!"

"Esso!?" Clara called on instinct, turning to confirm her suspicions. It was indeed her lynx friend, though with some obvious differences. She was wearing a sleeveless T-shirt and jeans that her Esso would never be caught wearing, though her signature headphones remained. The biggest changes were the burn scars along her right side and the prosthetic right leg. The annoyed scowl, on the other hand, was exactly what Clara remembered.

Said scowl was now turned right at Clara, "Goldie I don't know what your load is, but I don't know any Essos."

"Settle down Felicia," Fuli chided, "they just came out because I brought guests."

Felicia took in the rest of the group and her expression softened somewhat, "Ah, so I take it Larna and I win the bet on why Fuli ran off so suddenly?"

Ronan replied, "I got caught up in Phelps latest attack, she came to make sure I was okay." It was a technically true statement.

"I knew it," Larna beamed, "true love."

"The ace and the prude, they're perfect for each other," Felicia chuckled.

"Felicia!" The mammals in question shouted.

"Of all things to have in common with Robyn," Kodi muttered to Maiden, earning a small chuckle from her.

"What's a prude?" Aaron asked. The koala had previously been hiding behind Luna's legs. Felicia's ears dropped in panic as she realized the subject matter she'd just dropped in front of a kid.

"Uh, Uh, hey kid," Felicia stumbled, "do you wanna, Uh," she looked around desperately, and then she had it, "wanna know how I got my metal leg?" She took a step forward to show it off.

"Metal leg? Cool!" Aaron cheered, and everyone let out a sigh of relief.

One mammal still looked uncomfortable though. Clara leaned into Kodi's side and whispered, "I'm going to wait by the car," and walked off before Kodi could reply. She quickly made her way out of the building and leaned against Chief Wilde's car. She had not been prepared for _that_.

"Professor Bloom, what's wrong?" Clara looked up to see her world's Judy standing before her. Through the car window Clara could see Robyn absentmindedly playing with her phone. "Did something go wrong in there?"

Clara shook her head, "No it's just, this world's Esso was working there."

"Esso?" Judy asked in confusion, "Wait, you mean the lynx Skye is trying to jail?"

"The one who was key to defeating Doom and helped make sure the Cauldron didn't crash into the city? Yes, that Lynx," Clara let out a beleaguered sigh, knowing she wouldn't find a sympathetic ear here.

"Seeing her was hard for you?"

"I haven't seen her in over a month, not since that white furred bitch arrested her. I can't even visit her cause I'm a witness," Clara let out.

"Skye is brutal, but she's also fair, if there was something else going on with those deaths she'd be the first to apologize to your friend," Judy tried to reassure.

"I'm not holding my breath Chief," Clara sighed.

"Well for what it's worth, I hope things work out for her," Judy said sincerely.

Clara, surprised by that answer, could only ask, "Why?"

Judy smiled, "I believe in second chances Professor. My husband is an ex con mammal, I have an ex assassin as a daughter, I blundered a public speech so badly I did half of Dawn Bellwheather's work for her, and Luna...did some really awful things when the team first started. So long as someone is willing to work for it, I believe they deserve a shot." Clara gave an appreciative smile in gratitude. "Now, based on your reaction, I'm guessing you haven't talked with the team about this?"

"No, I don't want to drop my problem's on the team when we're right in the middle of trying not to fall apart, especially since I'm the only drama free people on the team."

Before Judy could respond, Robyn spoke up, "Clara, not talking about our problems is how the team got messed up in the first place, don't think your problems matter less just cause I'm louder about mine. The team is supposed to support each other."

"Thank you Robyn," Clara gave a happy smile." Judy, on the other hand, was suddenly wondering how much of her talk with Clara Robyn had overheard.

000

The group soon arrived at the Jones mansion. Robyn still had no luck with her mirror, so the group resigned themselves to being stuck in this dimension for the better part of a day, they only hoped their loved ones were keeping it together.

The local Judy wished her son goodnight and left for her apartment. Dinner was served in the main dining room and there were plenty of snacks for later. The only awkward moment came when Gazelle tried to use the visiting Kodi as an example of what her son should be doing, but she was talked down from that before long.

Despite the hectic day Robyn was enjoying herself, if only for getting to spend more time with her brother. After a certain point they tucked Aaron in for the night. Felicia had told him the story of how she'd been badly hurt by an explosion from one of Phelps drones, but Fuli and Bunga had pulled her from the rubble and gotten her to a hospital. Aaron found this to be extremely cool, though he was a little disappointed the leg couldn't do any tricks like his aunt Alice's arm could. There was only one thing hanging over an otherwise fine evening, and Robyn was confronted with her as she left the bathroom.

Fuli Duma was leaning against the wall outside and looked at Robyn with a neutral expression. Then she spoke, "Alright Robyn, your son is in bed and we've got some privacy, I want answers." Before Robyn could respond, Fuli continued, "Before Aaron distracted everyone, you all looked like you couldn't believe what you were seeing when I showed up, that's way to big a reaction for it to be about a cheetah and a hybrid being a couple. You've also been avoiding direct talks and eye contact with me all day." Fuli's rapid fire logic left Robyn no room to defend herself.

Considering her options, Robyn decided to go with a very general answer to try and save Fuli from the worst of it, "What happened to you in our world was really bad, I'll tell you as much as you want, but are you sure you want to know?"

"I'm certain, hit me with it," Fuli answered.

"Fuli, Robyn," a new voice called out, the two turned to see Ronan approaching them, "What's all this about?"

"Your sister is going to tell me why they've all been looking at me weird all day, but maybe we should get a room away from everyone." Fuli, Ronan and Robyn grabbed a nearby bedroom and shut the door behind them.

"Robyn, please don't hold anything back on my account," Fuli asked. Ronan seemed nervous about where this was going.

Robyn decided to be brief, "In our world, the mammals on that boat were never rescued."

"That's not enough for you to know me personally," Ful pressed.

"You and everyone else on that boat snapped, when they somehow got back to shore they…" Robyn let out a breath.

Ronan looked like he had figured it out, "No," he simply uttered.

"They were the Drowned, and Fuli was their leader. The kidnappings, murders, brainwashings, and the chemical attack on the whole city, our world's Fuli put all of it together."

"That can't be true," Ronan said in horror.

"What was she like?" Fuli asked.

"I only met her once, but she was completely nuts. She was always creepy calm while she talked about the wave purging the weak and leaving the strong, and about killing the corrupt and the wealthy no matter who they were and...look none of what she spewed made any sense. Mom said she was like a little kid throwing a tantrum because they got dealt a bad hand in a card game," Robyn held nothing back.

"That, that isn't Fuli," Ronan declared.

Before Robyn could confirm that it wasn't true for his girlfriend, said cheetah spoke up. "That honestly sounds about right, though I have a hard time believing I was that 'successful'." Her absolute calmness left the hybrid siblings flabbergasted. Just for a moment Robyn did see the Drowned's leader in this Fuli.

"Fuli what are you saying," Ronan demanded.

"I knew that I nearly broke on that boat, one more push would've sent me over the edge." She was looking off into space as she said that, "I actually thought of myself as dead because I nearly drowned when I couldn't save this poor lion," she finally turned to face Robyn again. "Thank you Robyn, I know it seems strange, but knowing what would've happened for certain is a lot more comforting to me then having this nebulus unanswered cloud over that incident."

Robyn, agreeing that it was a strange reaction, could only say, "Uh, your welcome."

"This is insane, my Fuli would never, you would never, tell me all of this is insane Fuli," Ronan begged his girlfriend.

Fuli, finally realizing she was scaring her boyfriend, tried to reassure him, "Ronan, I'm not that Fuli you're right...but I could've been."

"I, I…" Ronan said nothing else before hastily turning and fleeing the room. Leaving a remorseful sister and worried girlfriend behind.

000

Ronan absentmindedly tossed his phone back and forth between his hands while the earlier conversation played out in his head.

_How can she be so...okay with this, she nearly turned into a monster and she's just happy to have an answer._

Ronan was used to knowing what to do, even if it didn't always make him happy. When he learned about the initial Team Ceartais he knew it was right to be angry with his grandparents and Olivia, and that Luna needed support. He knew using it his powers to help the city was the right thing to do. He knew that seeking the leader position in the team was the right thing to do, for the good of the team and Olivia, as he saw that her devotion to the hero life was slowing destroying her personal life. But this latest revelation was something else.

After a day that, among other things, included his own near death, learning that his beloved Fuli had been maybe one day away from turning into a complete monster _and _her almost nonchalant reaction were too much for the young hero. So he came to one of the balconies to think in the cool night breeze.

"Ronan," a voice broke his concentration and he nearly dropped his phone. Robyn came up beside him and sat down. "You've been gone for over an hour bro, the others are getting worried."

"Do they know?"

"Yes."

"And how do they feel?" Ronan demanded.

"Horrified yeah, but no one's holding another Fuli's actions against her, that's just dumb," Robyn replied.

"And how do they feel about Fuli's reaction to all of this?'

"She explained it better to them then she did to us," Robyn sneered, "probably because she saw how it went the first time. She did say she owes you an apology."

Ronan was silent, still hanging his head down.

"So, are you gonna dump her?" Robyn asked casually.

Ronan's head shot up, "What!? Of course not, I would never, Robyn I love her, I…"

"I know," Robyn interrupted, she grinned at Ronan's confused face, "I just said that to get you to sit up and pay attention."

"Robyn that is..."

"Very effective, I know," Robyn was still grinning, "So let's talk about this little relationship hiccup." Ronan still looked annoyed, but agreed that it was best to stay on topic. "So we already know Fuli was pretty bad at explaining her feelings, but that's not the only thing bugging ya is it?"

Ronan sighed, "I've never had to think about her this way, it just doesn't feel...real."

Robyn nodded, "This is the first time you have to really think about your girlfriend's faults."

"I guess so."

Robyn put a hand on her brother's shoulder, "Take it from an expert, part of loving another mammal is admitting they aren't perfect, so you can work with them to better both of you." Robyn spoke with a somber tone that contrasted her earlier playfulness.

Ronan caught the change in tone easily, "You speak from experience?"

"I love Hannah, she's brave, strong, fiercely loyal, and she'd fight an army for the ones she loves," Bobyn sighed, "but she can also be petty and shortsighted where her loved ones are concerned, and she can overcorrect at times, and because of that she has hurt me."

"Robyn."

Robyn met his gaze with fire in her eyes, "But I don't love her any less, it just means we still have stuff to work on even though we're five years married. So go talk to your girlfriend and come out better for it, okay."

Ronan nodded, then pulled his sister into a tight hug, "Thanks sis, you're really good at this relationship advice thing."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Robyn moaned, "getting all serious for too long drives me nuts, but really, you were willing to help out a stranger you saw in a mirror when we met, I couldn't let that go unthanked."

"Well then I shall take your advice," and Ronan walked off, leaving a smiling Robyn behind. That smile lessened as Robyn thought of her wife and what she must be going. She fished out her phone and looked up a picture of them together.

_Only a day and I already miss you._ She slipped her finger over the screen and the next picture gave her pause; it was a group shot of the seven Ceartias members in civilian clothes.

Robyn lightly sneered at Kion and passed over Alice, but the grinning Kodi was what drew her attention. Her own advice played back in her head and she frowned as she remembered the conversation they'd had right before Ronan showed up.

_Maybe I was a little hard on him._ Robyn thought as she went back inside.

AN: Robyn's listening to her advice? Kodi's doubting himself, and Judy knows more than she let on. Will the group be able to go home soon? Next time on Dimensions and Time: Two hero teams team up. Robyn seeks advice and Judy asks some hard questions.


	7. Chapter 6: Nostalgic Reflections

**Chapter 6: Nostalgic Reflections**

"So what is this about about Mom?" Luna asked. Judy had called a meeting after Robyn had returned to the central gathering room. Now the five of them were gathered at a small snack table in the corner.

"There's something all of you should consider if we end up being stuck here for awhile," Judy explained. "They're going to decode that drone by tomorrow, and if they do find Phelps base are you going to help them take it out?" A wave of confusion passed through the group; each member holding back there gut reaction as they thought about the question.

Luna was the first to speak up in response, "I want to help them, but...it's bad enough our families don't really know where we are or if we're okay." Luna looked around, "I don't know if I'm okay with handling such a dangerous situation without even telling them."

"With all of us working together would there even be that much danger, especially if we plan ahead?" Clara asked.

Robyn shook her head, "Clara, I get what you're saying, but we're up against a guy who found a way around my healing, and I've survived being in an oil fire!" The others all shuddered, most only having secondhand accounts of the horrific damage done to Robyn's body when she defended Arthur Knight. "So who knows what his _base_ could be packing."

Clara nodded, "I get that, but Ceartais is supposed to help people, no matter the universe. I don't know how I'd take it if one of them got hurt because we sat this out."

Judy sighed, "That's more or less what I thought before I called this meeting. I admit I don't know what I would do if they asked for help, and that's why we need to think about this in advance."

"Who says we have to join them in battle to be helping?" Kodi spoke up.

Luna tilted her head, "Well, of course we'd help them plan the attack, I'd even lend their Luna the Maiden suit to help keep her safe."

"No not that, I mean stuff like this." Kodi summoned a small portal facing the ceiling, he reached through.

"What the," a startled voice called. The others turned and saw Kodi's hand grabbing a chip from the table young Kodi and Hannah were seated at. The portal moved slightly and Kodi dipped the chip in some salsa before pulling back and closing the portal. "Was that necessary!?" an irritated young Kodi called out.

"No," Kodi replied, "but I was proving a point," he then ate his magically acquired chip.

"Other Kodi stop showing up our Krafty Kodi, he's getting all jealous," Hannah playfully chidded, causing Kodi to freeze mid chew.

He nervously swallowed and answered, "Duelly noted other Hannah," before turning back to his group. Several of them had snickering grins, most worrisome amongst them was Clara.

"Krafty Kodi?" she asked with a snicker.

"Not one of my better nicknames," Kodi replied as his embarrassing old habit was unearthed.

Robyn laughed before turning to Clara, "Ask him about those someday, that one isn't even in the bottom five."

"_Anyway_," Kodi drew out his segway, "with my portals I figure we can offer support for them without ever needing to leave the lame bunker." Thankfully for him, his attempt to steer the conversation back on track worked.

Luna nodded after a few seconds, "I suppose I could just fire an arrow through a portal to give some covering fire."

"I could fly in, zap some drones and swoop back out," Clara proposed.

Judy smiled, "That's a good compromise, and one that everyone can be happy with, good job Kodi," the unexpected praise and light applause from the others made Kodi blush slightly. "I think we have a plan then. If we are still around tomorrow, and they find Phelps HQ, I saw we bring this to the table." Judy's declaration was met with nods of agreement.

From there the group dispersed. Clara and Kodi joined Hannah and Young Kodi for some video games while the three Wilde ladies talked about how Luna and Robyn were adjusting to being mothers. It was inevitable that some talk of the Ronin trap and their current situation came up, but the three were mostly able to keep the talk happy. Eventually everyone agreed they should call it a night since the next day promised to be busy.

As Robyn made her way to her room she overheard a bit of Ronan and Fuli's talk, "It's just, after those idiots kicked me out of university finding out that I was smart enough to run an organization _that_ successfully feels...vindicating I guess." Fuli tried to reason her reaction.

Ronan could be heard sighing, "I get that, it's just, did your reaction to finding out about all of this have to be so...okay with it? You were maybe hours away from turning into a monster and your just okay with it because you got an answer?"

"I think, maybe a better way of putting is that the relief at getting closure outways the...concern of knowing what would've happened," Fuli answered as if she wasn't sure of her reasoning herself. "I just know that every hour on that stupid boat was more unknown and I guess having some clarity makes it feel better."

"I just, I can't see you doing any of this Fuli, you aren't that...monster."

"Well I did get so wrapped up in my own weird relief at all of this that I forgot you were even standing there, so the obliviously cruel bit checks out," Fuli tried to joke.

Robyn smiled at the weak attempt at humor and left the couple to sort out their problems.

Robyn checked her makeup kit's mirror one last time, but there was still nothing but static. She set the case down on her nightstand. As her eyes closed and sleep claimed her, she briefly saw the kindly scientist hybrid she'd seen before in the mirror. He wasn't looking at her and was instead talking to a vixen in the distance with what looked like urgency. Robyn was far too tired to concentrate and the image vanished as quickly as it appeared.

000

The Jones mansion got the call that the drone had been successfully hacked towards the end of breakfast, spoiling what had been a pleasant affair up until that point. Kodi volunteered to open a portal to the bunker so they had time to finish eating, but everyone ate hastily as an anxious mood set in.

The Ceartais members all suited up while the non members changed back into their regular clothes, or police uniform in Judy's case. Minutes later they were stepping through an orange ring back into the new bunker. All save Fuli, who split from the group to go to work. Already the rest of Team Ceartais, Chief and Mayor Wilde, Director Savage and several members of Camelot were present and bustling about.

Marian called the group over and confirmed everyone's suspicions with one sentence, "We've found Phelps base."

In short order everyone was assembled before the large screen as Marian, Olivia and Ray presented their findings.

"The base is located in the Canal District," Ray opened, "beneath the ruins of their old building."

"The one that was trashed during the earthquake?" Kiara asked, recalling her and Olivia's encounter that night.

"The original building suffered severe structural damage and flooding during the wave," Marian explained, "it was believed to be abandoned shortly after Phelps was rescued from the Crimson Mermaid, and most of the upper floors were. However, the drones data log confirms that it came from beneath ground level."

"The only way they could get out is if they used the underground tunnel system," Skye stated, "do any of the tunnels connect to that area?"

"Yes," Marian confirmed, "But they were believed to have partially collapsed."

"So here's the deal," Olivia spoke up, "we've got an underground base that we don't know the size of, and a total of four tunnels that _might _connect to the base. And if we go for even one of them he'll know we're onto him."

Ray kept things going, "In short, we need a large scale attack on multiple points at once if we want the best chance of finally ending this." His comment made several mammals in the room consider the logistics of such an attack.

Marian cleared her throat, "Before we go any further we should address our guests," all eyes turned to the six visitors, "since you're still here it's safe to assume you still can't go home, so I have to ask: where do you stand on this?"

Kodi stood up, surprising several mammals, and said, "My team has talked about this and some of us aren't comfortable risking our lives when our families don't know where we are," that got some disappointed but understanding looks, "But we will offer support, in particular," Kodi quickly summoned a portal and stepped out next to Olivia, "you big brains think you can work some portals into the plan?" His grin went wide at the shocked looks on those unfamiliar with his powers.

Olivia was familiar, and she had a manic grin to match Kodi's, "Ohhh yess!"

000

Soon enough the plan was put into action. Skye, Nick and local Judy left to prepare their respective departments for the days events. Camelot and Ceartais made final preparations and boarding their vehicles and departing a few hours later. Soon only Marian and Robin were left with the visitors in the Bunker.

Judy sat by herself at the training area, she had no role to play in the upcoming battle so all she could do was wait and hope. The veteran cop had found herself increasingly unable to help in the affairs of her children's team, even the Legion program had been interrupted by Alice's water breaking. For someone like Judy who spent her life devoted to making the world a better place, being left in the dust by an age of powered mammals was very frustrating. It felt like there was nothing she could do to help her children these days.

"Mom?" Robyn's voice broke Judy out of her thinking, "I need to ask you something." Judy turned to see Robyn sit next to her, they were well away from everyone else. Judy had a bad feeling she knew what this was about.

"Yes sweetie?" Judy tried to keep a brave face up.

"It's about what you said to Clara yesterday," Robyn opened.

"Sweet cheese and crackers," Judy groaned, "you did overhear that." Judy quickly held up a hand to silence her daughter, this talk needed to happen on her terms or it would spiral out of control. "If we're going to talk about this Robyn, then I need you to promise that it stays between us."

Robyn crossed her arms, "I promise to hear you out, I won't agree to promise until then." Robyn's tone was firm but not accusatory.

_She really has grown up a lot this past year_, Judy thought, proud of her youngest daughter. "Alright then, to get the two biggest questions I'm sure you have out of the way, I know about Chen but your father doesn't."

Robyn's stoic expression cracked immediately upon hearing the second detail, "What, but he...how?" she finally fumbled a question out, caught off guard by the unexpected _good_ news.

_But there's always room to grow_, Judy mentally chuckled. "I told your father that I knew why Luna left Ceartais the first time, and that it was really bad," Judy paused to let Robyn process which question was getting answered. "He asked me if I could forgive Luna, and I said yes. That was good enough for him."

"But how did you find out?" Robyn pleaded, "and does anyone else know."

_She's worried about Luna, _Judy realized. It always warmed Judy's heart to be reminded of just how deeply Robyn cared for her friends and family. "Don't worry sweetie, it'd be very hard for someone outside of my position to put the clues together." Robyn eased up slightly. Having reassured her daughter, Judy thought of the best way to explain her process, "Chen passed away about two years ago, when that was reported I remembered the odd circumstances around his case, including that he tried to frame Luna's mother. "Judy closed her eyes, recalling her own anger at that bastard trying to disgrace Victoria Todd's name. "Before I really stopped to think about what I was doing, I was looking up dates and saw that Chen's paralysis, John's death, and Andraste's last sighting were all happened around the same time."

Robyn had followed her mother's logic, "And you knew that couldn't be a coincidence."

"Yes, I don't have all the details but the gist is easy enough to get," Judy said truthfully.

Robyn sighed, "Luna got John killed and they were out getting the evidence after the old farts benched her." Robyn figured there was no harm in filling in the gaps.

Judy took a moment to process the new info. "I find Marian and Robin being responsible to be the hardest thing to believe, what were they thinking getting sixteen year olds involved?" Judy started to rant.

"Mom, keep your voice down!" Robyn cautioned, glancing over to see if anyone else had heard.

"Sorry," Judy took a deep breath to calm herself, "we're getting off topic, there was something else you wanted to ask?"

Robyn took a moment to compose herself, "why did you forgive her?"

_So that's what this is about_, Judy realized, and tried to find the best to find a balance between advice and an honest answer. "I should preface this by saying that if I had learned this at the same time we unmasked you I probably would've been angrier, time passing played a role here."

Robyn sagged slightly, "Oh."

"Forgiveness is a weird thing sweetie, but there are three things to remember. One, there's a line where someone becomes unforgivably, and it's up to each of us to draw it."

"And what Luna did to Chen didn't?" Robyn asked.

Judy chuckled in an attempt to keep things from getting too heavy, "Some might disagree with me, but in my book the victim matters. Doing something horrible to a complete asshole is not the same as doing something horrible to an innocent." At Robyn's surprised face Judy added, "The law isn't always black and white sweetie, i learned that when i had to team up with Nick's parents for the first time."

"So the other two things?" Robyn pressed.

"If you do something wrong, you don't need the victim's forgiveness to be a better person," Judy said, "and forgiveness has to be earned."

"Earned?" Robyn asked for clarification.

"Forgiveness is something you get when you've made a genuine effort to improve and make up for what you did," Judy explained, "It has no value if its given out for no effort. Your sister had more than made up for what she did, as a doctor and as a hero," Judy said with a quiet pride. Robyn looked off to the side and Judy decided to pass the ball, "So, now that i've cleared that up, why don't you tell me…"

"Guys, we're about to start the attack!" Kodi called out.

Both Wildes were on their feet in an instant. "I'll take care of Aaron," Judy said.

"Right," Robyn replied, then after a moment's hesitation added, "We'll finish this later."

"Yes, we will."

000

There were three points in Zootopia's underground network of tunnels that might have contained a secret entrance to Phelps underground HQ. All three had several vehicles containing Camelot soldiers heading towards them, and one group contained Bella as well.

Marian closely monitored the progress of the three groups as they closed in on potential entry points at speed. All the groups had one vehicle with a unique sonar device to try and locate any secret tunnels, and Bella's group also had Bullet.

Scarlet, Maiden, Sirius and Mage all anxiously awaited any news from the attack groups, this was a whole new experience for them. "I don't know how mammals do this," Robyn stated, the stillness before battle was made worse by not being on the frontlines.

"Welcome to our world kiddo," Robin senior replied. The old archer was in his Hood uniform as part of the mission. "Not knowing exactly what's going on with you brats is brutal sometimes."

This statement was given credence as several tense minutes of silence passed. Robyn fiddled with her staff, Kodi absentmindedly shuffled a deck of cards, Clara did calculus equations in her head and Luna triple checked her arrows.

"Don't be nervous guys," Robyn finally spoke up, looking over at the others and meeting Kodi's eyes, "we've got this." She tried to reassure the group, if for no other reason then to calm their nerves.

Kodi gave a small smile in return, "Yeah we do."

A voice broke through on the radio, "Sonar's picking up an unregistered tunnel coming up on the left." In was a Camelot operative, though no one on the team recognized the voice.

"I'm getting something too," Bullet called out, confirming which group had made the breakthrough.

Marian turned to Kodi, "Time to put that confidence to the test, prepare to breach!"

000

Eustus Plelps was having a bad morning. Actually he'd been having a bad year. It had all started with that stupid elixar pump. A simple case of mass producing the prototype weapon had gotten him in trouble with several governments and even worse; Camelot. Now the legal noose was around his neck, his company was finished, if he wanted to make a living now it would have to be as an illegal dealer. Even his attempts to sell or demonstrate the power of his various acquisitions we're foiled by Camelot or those meddlesome _heroes_. Phelps hated them, both for what they represented and for the fact that he just couldn't win against them.

Calling in Ronin to help had resulted in her joining their side for reasons Phelps couldn't fathom, made worse by the fact that a poorly timed attack by him had let the heroes and Ronin deal with that bastard White Crow when he'd come for Ronin. If word of _that_ got out he'd have an entire vengeful clam coming for his head as well. He'd tatsed victory the previous day when his drones had poisoned and seemingly blew up Sargant Red, but reports later suggested that he'd somehow survived. Never winning was bad enough, but thinking he'd won only to be denied later was infuriating.

At least there was no way to trace him back to this, his last refuge. Built under the ruins of his once proud factory. It was a small comfort. All he had left were a few elixir mammals, some mechs and drones, and some hired mercenaries who would probably bail if they knew how bad things really were. Honestly, part of the reason he'd lasted this long was that he'd swopped up several of Rattigan's top enforcers and henchmen after the old rat was finished off by Ceartais and that meddlesome bunny chief.

"Sir?" Phelps musings were interrupted by the arrival of Cloudkicker, the bear who was also his number two. "I've found us a place we can escape to when we need to abandon this place."

"To start over?' Phelps asked.

Cloudkicker paused before answering, "No sir, to go into hiding."

Phelps glared at his assistant, "Are you suggesting we give up!?"

"We've already lost sir, yesterday's attack was the last chance for revenge and it failed, we should've cut out losses a long time ago, but we need to do it now," the bear held his ground, "There's nothing more to be gained here."

Phelps put his hooves on his desk, his head down in despair, "Everything I've built and worked for...gone."

"As long as we live, we can build something new," Cloudkicker tried to persuade.

Phelps sighed, "Fine, tell me…"

The sound of an explosion interrupted Phelps and sent shockwaves through the facility. As soon as he recovered Cloudkicker reached for his radio and screamed, "What the hell was that!"

"The secret entrance has been breached sir! Ceartias vehicle has entered the tunnel is rapidly advancing."

"They found us," Phelps stated simply, now wishing he'd taken Cloudkicker's advice just a little bit sooner.

000

In the bunker, Marian and the others were overseeing the initial attack on Phelps HQ. As soon as the secret tunnel was located the Camelot agents had begun setting breaching charges and Mage had opened two portals to allow the other groups to join up. The total of six vehicles emerged in a large hanger with multiple mechs and drones. Some pilots were scrambling to their mechs while others worked to rapidly activate the drones.

"Sirius you're up!" Spitfire called as she exited the back of Bella to join the attack.

A portal opened in the back of Bella and Sirius flew threw, immediately going intangible and circling around the hanger perimeter to where the drones were stationed. Bullet used her pulse to keep a look out for anyone lining a shot at the flying wolf, but none ever came because everyone was too distracted by the sudden assault.

"I'm in position, Mage work you're magic," Sirius called. A moment later young Mage waved his wand and the control panels for the drones exploded, startling the mammals working there. Sirius zapped the mammals before they could react and set to work draining the drones that had gotten a partial charge.

"Sirius, one of them is taking off!" Bullet called out. Sirius turned and saw the drone hovering in the air and turning towards her, but it never got to do anything before Sirius fired an energy beam fueled by the drones she'd drained and blew the drone to pieces.

Within minutes the hanger was secured, but the smaller passageways going forward meant that Bella and the other vehicles had to be left behind. Several Camelot soldiers and Sirius remained behind to secure the location, the soldiers rounding up prisoners and corpses while Sirius made sure all the mechs were drained. When her job was done, Sirius stepped through a portal and back into the bunker. Mage shared a playful wink with his girlfriend before preparing for his next portal trick.

The attack group split up to cover more ground as they advanced from the hanger. Spitfire led a group with Andraste, young Mage and several Camelot mammals towards what they thought was the security room. Kiara took more Camelot mammals towards the heart of the facility, and Ray had Red, Bullet and Ronin with him as they tried to track down Phelps himself. The final battle was underway.

000

Back in the bunker, Mage was supporting all three groups as they advanced through the base. Anytime they ran into particularly stubborn resistance or a trick defensive position, Mage would open a small portal and either the Hood or Maiden would take a quick shot with their arrows to make things easier for the attackers.

Young Mage's HUD display led the group to the security and communications rooms. The mammals there tried to put up a fight, but caught off guard and lacking anything to even slow Spitfire down they were quickly dealt with.

Red's group did encountered some weakened elixir mammals, but the group knew how to deal with them. Ronin got a gas grenade in one's face while Red hit it in the back with a cryo arrowhead, and Bullet scored an eye shot that so pained the ram it hit that a Camelot deer was able to just walk up and attach the arrowhead. Despite this and Bullet's best efforts, they were unable to locate Phelps himself. His office was deserted and the living quarters were largely empty.

Roar led her squad like a bulldozer; plowing through mercenaries and weaker elixir mammals like they were nothing. The center of the facility was home to the labs and large testing areas, and it was there that the group encountered real trouble. Many enemy mammals were arranged behind a full elixir tiger and a medium sized mech. Despite the direct challenge, Roar's eyes were on the moose and bear trying to escape the room unnoticed.

"PHELPS!" she bellowed and hurled a nearby desk at them. It missed, but it did force Cloudkicker to jump to the side. The tiger and mech engaged Roar head on, but the distraction allowed Roar's squad to get the jump on the mercenaries. With more than half his mammals eliminated out the gate, Cloudkicker was forced to take cover while the battle raged.

000

"Roar has Cloudkicker pinned down but Phelps is getting away," Marian announced over the comlinks.

"We've got control of the security cameras," young Mage announced in response, "he's heading for a small backup hanger. Red, your group can intercept him!"

"On it," Red replied, "give us directions."

"Roar is getting tag teamed over here!" One of Roar's squadmates shouted.

Sirius stepped forward, "Mage port me over, I'll deal with the mech."

Mage did so, but turned to his girlfriend and said, "Be careful, that tiger can hit really hard."

Sirius nodded, keeping her game face on, "Oo-de-lally!" she shouted as she flew forward.

Young Mage guided Ray's group through the base toward Phelps location, he had a head start but they were in much better shape, so they quickly closed the arrived in the hanger just as Phelps was halfway to a parked boat ready to escape into the canals. The moose dove for cover behind a supply crate and one the Camelot mammals hurled a grenade at the boat. The explosion damaged the boat and left in lifting to the side.

"Fine," Phelps growled, "if I'm finished, I'm taking some of you with me!" The moose suddenly started to grow and his fur turned white. The squad of heroes watched in horror as the largest elixir mammal they'd ever seen stood before them. The now over twenty foot tall moose bellowed and grabbed the damaged boat, with a horrific display of strength he hurled it at the heroes.

"Get to cover!" Ray shouted. Unfortunately only part of the group was able to. Red and Ronin dived forward and under the boat, and half the squad were able to get to the hallway. Phelps aim was poor so the boat didn't hit anyone, but it landed with a splat that sent a wave of boatl debris out towards the group like shrapnel. The mammals in the hallway were relatively safe, but Ray, Bullet and the other half of the squad were caught in the blast.

"Merde!" Ronin seethed, "Get them to safety!" She and Red charged the goliath moose.

000

"Shit!" Young Mage's voice sounded over the radio, "Phelps is an elixir mammal, the pursuit group is in trouble!"

"Kind of busy!" Roar shouted, still fighting the larger tiger.

"We need help here!" One of Ray's unharmed squadmates shouted.

The mammals in the bunker absorbed the new info with restrained panic, an elixir mammal that big was supremely dangerous. They needed a plan and quickly. Mage was opening a portal to let Spitfire through, but the mech wouldn't be enough.

"Damn it," Red's voice called, "he's got a protection belt on!" Red was trying to slip underneath his massive adversary.

"A what!?" Scarlet asked from back in the Bunker.

"Phelps got wise to us using cryo arrows to fight elixir mammals," Robin explained, "so he invented a simple but tight belt around the waist that protects the pump."

"Hellfire!" Spitfire screamed as a wide swipe from Phelps hit her and sent her crashing into a wall, cutting off the stream of missiles she'd been attacking with.

Mage had a portal open that was above and behind Phelps, Maiden and The Hood were using it to blast Phelps with explosive arrows, but his increased size was making them less effective then they'd been on Lily back in Maiden's home dimension.

Scarlet was watching all of this with a lot of frustration. She was the only one who hadn't done anything so far and now she was looking at two situations where she wouldn't be of much help. She looked around and tried to think of something she could do. Through Maiden and Hood's portal she saw Red and Ronin trying to climb or jump up Phelps legs with no success; the moose knew they were there and was covering his basis. He wasn't very fast, but it was only a matter of time before he got a lucky hit in. They needed to come at this from a different angle..._wait that's it_! Scarlet realized.

"Mage, I've got an idea," she said as she ran over to her leader.

000

Sirius's arrival had swung the tide in favor of Roar now that the tiger didn't have his backup. The Camelot squad had eliminated the opposing mercs and Sirius' energy blasts had sent the mech crashing to the ground. Deciding to end this so they could go help their friends she zapped the elixir tiger from behind, letting Roar get him into a headlock and knock him out.

Instead of focusing on the ongoing battle, Roar instead closed in on the cowering Clockkicker. She didn't give him a chance to speak before she grabbed his head in her massive hand and seethed, "for my brother," and started to squeeze. Before Sirius or anyone else could even process what was happening, a final, terrified scream was cut off by a sickening crunch and a body feel to the floor at Roar's feet.

Sirius, completely left footed by the bear's violent end, stumbled for a few feet before throwing up beside a wall. A she wolf from the Camelot squad came over and gently patted the flying wolf on the back, equally shocked by her former teammates actions.

000

Red was getting desperate. Phelps was going to hit him or Alice eventually, Spitfire hadn't pulled herself out of the wall yet, and he wasn't sure how Ray and Bullet were doing since the remaining squad had dragged them and the other downed mammals into the hallway and out of immediate danger.

"Get ready," Scarlet's voice called, "I'm gonna make an opening." Red wondered what his sister was planning.

Directly above Phelps an orange ring opened up and The Undying Scarlet dropped straight down onto Phelps back. The giant moose started thrashing about, only to get a flashbang arrow to the face the disoriented him. Scarlet put all of her weight into a downward jump and grabbed onto Phelps belt, pulling it down with her momentum.

Red saw Scarlet's plan and jumped up to meet his sister, cryo arrowhead in hand. But just as he reached the apex of his jump, Phelps swatted his back and knocked Scarlet loose. She collided with Red midair and they both crumbled to the ground. They looked up to see an enraged Phelps raised his foot to crush the red clad heroes. Then he started twitching mid stomp, then his gritted teeth opened and a pained scream came out, then he started flailing about in tandem with his screams.

Scarlet and Red scrambled out of the way just as one final portal opened and Roar arrived to witness Phelps fall. He finally collapse forward as he slowly reverted to his normal size. Everyone saw Ronin standing on Phelps' lower back. Her sword was lodged in Phelps elixir pump and blood was oozing out of the wound. With a final twitch, Phelps was silenced forever.

Ronin was met by Scarlet as she climbed down the moose's corpse, "Merci Alice, I did not want to test if we could survive being crushed."

Alice chucked, "Your welcome, Robyn."

There was still plenty of work to be done, but all of the mission objectives had been completed, and Zootopia was finally free from Phelps' grasp.


	8. Chapter 7: Nuanced Opinions

Hello everyone, and welcome to the next chapter of Dimensions and Time, there won't be a new chapter next week due to Christmas so I hope this one holds you over. Thank you so much to everyone who faved, reviewed and followed my story, and let's get going!

**Chapter 7: Nuanced Opinions**

The hours following Phelps' death were hectic as various forms of wrap up began. Securing the rest of the base, numerous arrests and getting medical attention to the wounded were all pressing concerns. More than half the mammals in the base had died in the assault. Fortunately none of the attack squad itself lost their lives, though those caught in Phelps' boat throw had everything from severe lacerations to broken limbs. Both Maiden and Andraste made their way to the downed mammals, with Anderste making sure Hannah was okay. The blind gunslinger has a broken left leg and some cuts on her arms, but nothing worse.

Despite the frantic buzz of activity, no one was low on energy. The excitement of victory permeated everyone, Eutus Phelps and his machinations were finally finished after nearly a year and a half, and that was cause for celebration.

Soon, Robyn and the other visiting mammals regrouped in the Bunker, not quite sure what to make of the day. "Does anyone else feel out of place here?" Robyn asked aloud.

"This was their final battle," Maiden reasoned, "we almost literally stumbled in at the end."

"Still, the bad guy lost and none of the good guys died, that's reason enough to be happy in my book," Clara said, having recovered from the shock of witnessing Cloudkicker's gruesome end.

"And thanks to you guys, they didn't have to have their victory sullied like ours were," Judy added. When she received some questioning looks she clarified, "When the Drowned were defeated, we lost Marian and Robin, and Alice's group ruined any chance of celebrating Doom's defeat."

_Can't escape it even in casual convo_, Kodi lamented. "Well then we should be happy we helped them, and happy for them." Everyone agreed on that point.

"So...what now?" Clara asked no one in particular.

"We stay out of their way," Kodi answered. He was trying his best to sound authoritative but he was clearly exhausted from using so many portals in rapid succession. "We're just visitors here."

"Robyn, any luck," Luna asked, increasingly she was getting anxious about getting back home.

Robyn stood by her sister and showed off the make-up kits mirror, and it still showed only static when Robyn tried to see home, "Nothing," she replied, "still nothing."

Clara spoke up before anyone's thoughts could wander, "Let's not panic, I know it feels longer but we've actually been in this world for less than 24 hours."

"24 hours of our families not knowing what happened to us," Judy sighed, imagining Nick had probably suffered his worst night of sleep in years.

"And we brought the only semi-expert on this nonsense with us," Luna added.

"No we didn't," Kodi said plainly, "they've got Rocket." The mention of the former bounty hunter reminded everyone that despite looking like a native Zootopian he was actually from another world.

"I mean, he's not a scientist at all, but if he's from _that_ crazy world he has to know the basics," Robyn reasoned.

"Yeah," Kodi muttered, "crazy." The wolf had bizarre small smile on his.

"What are you grinning about Jones?" Clara asked, "I know my butts out of your sight, so it can't be that." That earned a small chuckle from Aaron and Robyn.

Kodi looked embarrassed being called out, but composed himself quickly, "I was just...reminiscing I think. The team and some authority guys working together to take down the baddies like we used to do."

"I guess," Robyn said.

"I get it," Luna said. What she and everyone else didn't say was that the reminiscing wolf was part of the reason that unity was currently in pieces. With that uncomfortable topic avoided the group lapsed back into silence while they listened for updates.

They got word from local Luna that Hannah's broken leg would heal by the days end. Within an hour local Nick was making the announcement to the city that Phelps was dead and his group was finished, sparking a wave of celebration.

Eventually waiting for Robyn's mirror to show something got boring and Aaron was first to feel it. The little koala had been very patient but he had his limits. He started levitating random objects with his powers, including himself. His family was nervous but Clara offered to show him the basics if he stayed low to the ground. She and Robyn left for a more open area, and it didn't take long for the others to leave as well.

Kodi was soon left alone with his thoughts, twice in the last conversation alone, his actions with the Ronin trap had nearly spoiled the mood. _Damn it, soon we'll go home and be right back where we started_. _Who am I supposed to go to for advice on making amends with a friend who did nothing wrong_..._wait a minute_.

000

There was one small shadow that hung over the victory against Phelps; the fact that both Phelps and his second in command Cloudkicker were dead. Alice was cleared of any wrongdoing since Phelps death was in pursuit of saving lives, but Kiara had needlessly murdered the defenseless Cloudkicker for revenge.

The lioness sat alone by parking space, she'd been told to wait there by Ray while the consequences of her actions were determined. She'd already decided she wasn't ever going back to the military, but this would likely sever the option permanently. Ceartais was more a 50 50 thing in her mind.

"Kiara," a familiar voice called out, surprising the lioness.

"What's Up Ko...di?" She she stuttered and it took her a second to realize it was the older magic Kodi that stood before her.

The other wolf smiled, "well you're not wrong."

"Ugh, that's confusing," Kiara groaned. "So uh, listen, I never thanked you for bailing me out yesterday so, thanks."

"No prob," Kodi smiled, "it's what heroes do."

"Yeah, heroes," Kiara looked down at her feet. "So why are you here? You wouldn't come looking for me without a reason."

Kodi shuffled his feet around awkwardly before giving up on easing in and just got to the point, "I need advice."

"Advice? I mean, sure, but I'm not really seeing how I'd be any use to you," Kiara said, confused by the request.

Kodi rubber the back of his head, "Well, I guess I should ask; are you and Olivia are on good terms?"

"What? Well, I guess we're better than we were for awhile, but it's not the same as it was before all of this," Kiara reflected on their fractured friendship, "but what does that have to do with...ooohh, you want to make up for something don't you?"

Kodi sighed, "Yeah, Robyn."

Kiara crossed her arms, "Well, start talking, I'm gonna need context."

Kodi sat opposite Kiara and reluctantly started, he'd been hoping to be vague and get some general advice, but it was clear he was going to have to explain himself. "Towards the end of that rescue mission in the other world, Luna did something that technically benefited the group but was stupid risky and a lot of us were mad. So a small group of us did something behind the others backs to finish…"

"Okay stop," Kiara said bluntly, "tip number one, don't dance around the issue. Don't say 'something', or call it 'the incident', say what it is you did, own the reality of your actions or you'll look like you're trying to sugarcoat them."

Kodi reflected on the choice of language Kiara spoke of, skirting around the event was becoming increasingly common back home. Kodi took a deep breath and started to explain the Ronin trap in detail; what lead to it, the meeting afterwards, the fallout back home and where things were now.

"...and it was right after I sat down that Robyn saw Ronan in the mirror and you know the rest," Kodi finished his recount, "I want to make things right but after that last meeting I don't know how."

Kiara listened to the whole thing with a stoic expression on her face, the only expression changes were her eyes widening a few times. When Kodi finished she let out a breath she'd been holding and finally spoke up. "Okay, first of all," with incredible speed she turned and backhanded Kodi in the face, "I trust I don't need to explain that!"

Kodi's cheek stung from the impact and it took him several moments to register Kiara's statement, "No, oowww, message received."

"What was your Olivia thinking making you leader?" Kiara asked, though Kodi couldn't tell if she was asking him or not, "Luna would've made so much more sense."

"Luna…" Kodi tried to say.

"Is much more qualified then you to lead, and if not her, maybe someone like Chief Wilde or Rojek or anyone other then you and your crew!" Kiara paused to compose herself, "But that's between you and your team, you came for advice." Kiara sat back down and didn't speak for a minute. "I guess there's three things I can add: one, stop making excuses, two, acknowledge that Alice was in danger, and three, accept that the good you did doesn't count for much when you could've achieved it without the negatives."

Kiara spoke rapidly and Kodi tried to process all of it. He was done making excuses and trying to sugarcoat what he'd done. As much as he hated to admit it, Kiara was right about the good they'd done not mattering for much. It was a bitter pill to swallow when he'd been frustrated at the near demonizing treatment he and the others were getting. But the second point…

"Well?" Kiara asked.

"I, I get the first and third bits but…"

"You don't think Alice was in danger," it wasn't a question.

"Yes okay!" Kodi said in exasperation, "I know Ronin is super dangerous, but I'm really powerful, you've seen what I can do, and I was guarding Alice the whole time, and she had my shield belt I get everything else they're holding against us, but I really think everyone is exaggerating how much danger Alice was in!"

"You really think a year of magic training matches a lifetime of being an assassin, especially one from a world of powered mammals?" Kiara asked, "and that's ignoring the fact that using a pregnant mammal as bait is inexcusable by itself!"

Kodi just looked at the ground, not answering the question. A part of him wished he could just get all of his teammates and the in the know family members together and show off his full power and then ask if they still though Alice was in danger.

"Alright listen up Jones, you said you wanted advice but it's clear you also want validation, so i'm gonna ask one more question, the same question Old man Robin asked me," she cleared her throat, "are you sorry because you genuinely feel that what you did was wrong, or sorry because you didn't realize what your actions would cost you?"

Kodi thought about that, he certainly hadn't realized just how angry everyone would be with their plan, and he did wish things could go back to the way they were before, but he also wasn't denying that some of what they did was wrong. "Why can't it be both?"

"I don't need an answer, you need to answer it for yourself, because one of those is selfish and the other isn't," Kiara said with authority.

"Kiara," a new voice called and the two turned to see Ray standing several meters away, "the boss will speak with you now."

Kiara stood up, "Right, let's get this over with." She started walking away, but paused and looked back at the still dejected looking wolf. "Kodi," she called in a softer voice, "one last thing, don't screw up again, live by your apology and it will show eventually." With that said she rejoined Ray.

"Thank you again for your help today Mage," Ray added before walking off with Kiara, leaving Kodi to ponder the question Kiara had left for him.

000

"So that's why Kodi looked so sad," Judy realized upon hearing her daughter's account of the severe talk she'd had with her old friend just before all the madness started.

"Yeah," Robyn replied, "Mom, do you think I was too hard with him?" This was what she'd been getting at with her talk with her mom earlier, and now that Clara's floating lessons were keeping Aaron busy, they could resume the conversation.

Judy considered her words carefully, "To answer your question with a question; have you thought about what I said earlier?" It was important to Judy that she not do her daughter's thinking for her, Kodi was Robyn's friend, not hers.

"I don't know how to feel about Alice and Kodi."

"And Kion?"

Robyn let out a low growl.

"Okay then," Judy had kept up to date on Kion's situation via Nala, and her old friend's disappointment in her son was always apparent.

Robyn hung her head, "So all three of them are a big no for earning forgiveness."

Judy nodded, "I was very disappointed to hear that Kodi didn't make good on his 'start repairing things after the holidays' promise', his first decree as team leader and nothing came of it."

"Not defending him or anything, but I did hear from Hannah that he was really caught off guard that the rest of our families were so mad at them since his let him off kind of easy," Robyn could sympathize with Kodi there at least, she had also been expecting the vacation would give their emotions some time to cool off.

"Okay so, do you think any of them are unforgivable?" Judy pushed, knowing from experience that you had to confront the uncomfortable topics head on.

"Maybe Kion, I don't know, you mind if we stick to Kodi?" Robyn requested, "I feel like things are coming to a head with him."

Judy nodded, happy to make headway, "Alright sweetie, now i'm no therapist, but if you're still unsure about Kion, who I think we agree is the worst of the five, then it feels safe to say that Kodi isn't unforgivable to you."

'"Ugh, if just wasn't so stubborn about Alice being in danger," Robyn sighed, "I think that magics gone to his head a little."

"Just keep all of this in mind the next time he gives you something to work with," Judy said, feeling like they'd made all the headway they were going to make for now. "On a related note, why did you forgive your sister when she started dating Alice?" Judy asked, recalling having to hold Robyn back from mauling the assassin bunny.

Robyn was surprised by the slight change in subject, but quickly though back to a different emotionally turbulent time for the team. "Part of it was realizing Alice was legit trying to be better, it took seeing her after that boat mission to realize that, but the bigger thing was Nana reminded me of all the good Luna did, and that she'd made sure that being a good sister was the one thing she always got right," Robyn sadly recalled the last personal talk she'd ever had with her grandmother.

"So part hard truth and part cashing in good will," Judy noted, "and just like then, you need to decide if this incident can outweigh everything that came before."

"Yeah," Robyn quietly agreed. "Hey, speaking of Nana, how do you feel about her now?"

Judy crossed her arms, "I forgave her, but I won't lie to anyone about the kind of person she was."

"So no using the opportunity for some closure?"

Judy grinned, "I already got my punch in, but it looks like someone is taking the chance."

000

Marian was still at work on her big computer screen even after the attack had concluded. There was a lot of Phelps central computer to decode, and while not as pressing as the drone decryption the day before, some of the contents might be time sensitive so she and Camelot's decoders were working at a good pace.

"Nana, are you busy?" The voice of her granddaughter called out. Marian looked up and saw that it wasn't _her_ granddaughter, but the one from the other world. The one who wore the uniform inspired by her Maid outfit.

"No dear, this isn't urgant," Marian slightly lied, "come on, sit down."

Luna sat facing the alternate version of her dead Nana and realized she wasn't meeting her gaze, "Is my outfit making you uncomfortable?"

"I just don't understand why you'd want to name yourself for me, I know you said it's complicated but that doesn't answer anything," Marian explained.

"When I started wearing this outfit, I said that you would finally get your wish of me being a better version of you," Marian's eyes widened at the reminder of her motivation, "I'm guessing you realize that isn't what you want anymore?"

Marian put her head in her hands, "More like I realized it was a stupid thing to wish for in the first place. I already had my better version; my son and daughter, they were all any reasonable mammal could ever ask for. But no, I had to go and break the law again because heaven forbid rebel Marian Wilde stay on the straight and narrow. It wasn't until Ronan and his friends joined up that Ceartais actually became something worthwhile."

"It's the same in my world with Robyn," Luna grinned.

"She's a good kid," Marian agreed, "or adult, whatever, I'm glad I got to meet her."

"But she's no detective, she didn't find out about why I left the team until I had to tell her," Luna revealed the big difference between the two Marians.

"But that, that would mean no one called her out and…"

"She still realized what she did was wrong, it just took longer," Luna hoped that would help put the old vixen at ease.

Marian did relax somewhat, but she was still clearly upset, "That's good I suppose, but...oh Luna, where did I go wrong?"

"When you recruited Olivia and I?" Luna asked and answered, a little confused by the question.

"Yes, but how did I get there?" Marian looked over to Judy and Robyn playing with Aaron, "Did your mother or, well, I ever tell you the full story of the night she unmasked me?"

Luna nodded, "Yes, she was attacked and nearly killed by some grunt working for Bellwether, you saved her and she choose not to arrest you, I heard it from my Nana."

"But your mother said she had to bring me in, and I was going to let her," Marian exclaimed, much to Luna's surprise, "I told her what i thought the best course of action was, but I left the choice in her hands."

"And you thought she would let you go?" Luna asked.

"No, that's the point Luna, I thought she was going to dart me right then and there, but I was going to do right by my...she wasn't even my daughter yet, just the girl dating my son, but I was going to do right by her," Marian recalled Judy's sadness and horror that awful night.

Luna nodded in understanding, "And you are trying to figure out how you went from doing that to backstabbing her a decade later."

"Someone has to ask how we got here, Ronan and his parents are just focused on what was done, Luna and Olivia just wanted to put the mess behind them and Robin spent a long time in denial about Ceartais being a mistake," Marian recounted. "I was good, okay maybe not good but better than I used to be, and then something went wrong and i fell back off the wagon."

"Nana," Luna put a gentle hand on Marian's shoulder, "I think you already know the answer, you just said it."

Marian was silent for a solid minute before finally breathing out a pained word, "Robin. My husband came back with all the stories of what he'd been up to and we all got off easy for being the M. , and having that influence around me…" Marian trailed off, a guilty look plastered on her face.

"With him back around, you fell into old habits," Luna finished the hard sentence. She understood why it was hard to say, aside from holding the fox she loved responsible it felt like she was trying to pass the blame. "It's funny really," Luna concluded, "Grandad wanted to retire first, but had to go on the run to cover your mistake, then he comes back having embraced the lifestyle and that rubs back off on you, in a way its like you screwed yourself over."

Marian was stunned silent by Luna's conclusion, then, slowly, a small smile grew on her face and a light chuckle escaped her lips, "That's one way to look at it."

"If we ever want to improve ourselves, we have to be willing to reflect on ourselves first," Luna relayed a quote she'd gotten from Doctor Thrash.

"Good advice," Marian sighed, "You know it's funny, I thought you came here for closure or something but you wound up helping me instead."

"That was the plan," Luna smiled, enjoying the surprised look on Marian's face, "After what your Luna told me about her history, I figured you could use some help."

"I, you," tears formed in Marian's eyes.

"Marian Luxley, in my world you died a hero, and as a mammal I loved, but also one I still hate, but you likely won't get the chance to die a hero in this world, so you have to keep living with what you did." Luna paused to make sure Marian was still focused, "and your family, even Ronan I'd bet, still loves you, so keep living to help them."

Marian pulled Luna into a tight embrace, "Saying you're better than me is doing you a disservice Luna, you are a wonderful mammal and your Nana would be proud of you." Marian choked out between tears.

"Thank you," Luna said in return.

Unbeknownst to the two vixens their conversation was being listened in on. Kodi was pacing around after his talk with Kiara and happened to be walking by the pair. He didn't mean to stick around, but the subject matter caught his attention.

"The talk got your attention son?" Kodi yelped and turned to see Robin Senior standing behind him, "seeing as you aren't normally the lurking type, i'm guessing that little talk over there is something you can relate to?"

"Yes, yes sir," Kodi answered after catching his breath.

"Walk with me so you don't look suspicious," Robin ordered as he walked away from his wife's station.

"They're talking about blaming you for your wife starting Ceartais, sort of, doesn't that bother you?' Kodi asked.

"Not really, Marian's been holding me to account for awhile now, she was just too guilty to commit to pinning it on me. Though I never made the round about logic your Luna just did," Robin mused.

"Wait," Kodi asked for clarification, "she's already been blaming you?"

"Not so much blaming, more calling bullshit out for what it was," Robin laughed, "you were talking to Kiara earlier right? She use the 'are you sorry cause what you did was wrong, or sorry cause you weren't ready for the consequences' question?"

"Uh, yes," Kodi replied, still struggling to keep up with the old thief.

"Well Marian pulled that on me when I was being stubborn about Ceartais, insisting that we'd just made some mistakes rather than the whole idea being a mistake," Robin thought back to one of the worst fights he'd ever had with his wife.

"Well what happened?" Kodi asked, hooked on the story.

"I eventually realized I was being selfish, and it was hurting my family," Robin said with less energy. "I told Nick and Judy that the life was addicting once, but really that's a general thing. The longer you insist on sticking to a course, the harder it is to break from it, so make sure you know what you're doing."

Kodi was surprised by the shift from storytelling to advice, but was grateful, "Um, well, thanks Robin, i'll keep that in mind."

"Of course," Robin smiled, "I assume we were friends and did a lot of mechanical work together seeing as you named your freakin shop after me."

Kodi smiled, remembering the routine of just doing repairs and tune ups with the older fox, "Yeah we...wait a minute, how did you know exactly what advice I needed?"

"Oh, it's because I absolutely am the lurking type," Robin joked with a sly grin. Kodi deadpanned back before opening a portal behind himself and stepping through. Robin laughed as the orange ring closed, "The amount of trouble that spell could've gotten John and I out of."

000

"So I have a question about your powers Robyn," Fuli asked. The cheetah had rejoined the group after news of Phelps death got out, and was currently sitting with the Wilde siblings at a table in the training area.

"Shoot," Robyn replied.

"How do you know if it's another you you're seeing in a mirror or if it's another version of one of your brothers?" Fuli asked, fascinated by the power.

"Honestly, I have no idea," Robiy groaned, "at this point I think I've given up figuring out how this power works."

Ronan's interest was piqued, "wait so you mean you have seen other male hybrids in the mirror?"

"Yeah, like the one that saved by life in this hall of mirrors one time, but he was in the Scarlet outfit," Robyn remembered.

"Well hybrids are very rare," Fuli observed, "maybe you just see any child of your parents, even with a whole multiverse of possibilities I can't imagine there are that many repeats."

"I was just wondering if you may have seen Reginald or Ryan without realizing it," Ronan said in a sad voice.

Robyn could sympathize, "You still visit their grave, don't you?"

"When I can," Ronan answered.

"Well if i ever meet them I'll snap a picture and show it to you," Robyn promised.

"You can do that?" Fuli asked.

Robyn tilted her head, "I think so, the seeing other worlds crap happens whether I like it or not, but when I focus I can see anything I've got a clear memory of."

Fuli smiled, "And my Ronnie leaves quite the impression."

"Fuli," Ronan feigned annoyance, "anyway, that's what you've been using to try and get back home?"

"Yeah, still no luck though," Robyn looked at one of the mirrors in the training area's changing rooms and the reflection filled with static."

"That is eerie," Fuli noted.

"I'm sorry all of this is happening," Ronan said.

Robyn shook her head, "Don't be, and don't get sad for us, this is your guy's happy day."

"The community center was cheering for nearly ten straight minutes when Mayor Wilde made the announcement," Fuli smiled at her co-workers enthusiasm.

Robyn looked off at the mirror again, she was happy for Ronan and the others, but she couldn't stop thinking about Hannah and her father, the later had nearly all of his family disappear on him at once. She blinked...and her heart nearly stopped, there was something in the mirror.

It was the brown eyed scientist looking male she'd seen before her talk with Alice, he looked a little surprised to see her, but quickly reached for his phone.

?: Oh, it's you again. Are you okay? You look very flustered.

Robyn rushed over and typed out a response.

Robyn: Sorry, didn't expect to see you again out of nowhere.

?: It's alright, I'm glad to see you again after we got cut off. I see you're in your hero outfit, is that your base?

Robyn: No it's just, look I know this sounds crazy but me and some of my friends are stuck in another dimension.

?: Ah, that old chestnut, why exactly are you stuck?

Robyn: Normally I can see versions of me from other dimensions in mirrors but somethings been interfering and all i get is static.

?: Ah, dimensional interference, well the good news is that it's perfectly natural.

Robyn was happy to hear someone else confirm Clara's theory, but she interrupted before she could type a reply, "Robyn? What's going on?" Ronan and Fuli joined her in looking in the mirror.

?: Oh, who are these two?

The hybrid had a startled look on his face, but his smile was almost pleading.

Robyn: this is Ronan and Fuli, they're from the world i'm stuck in.

?: Ronan, I, wait, we never got to properly introduce ourselves last time. My name is Ryan Wilde. If he's Ronan then means you're Robyn?

Robyn nodded in confirmation and Ryan did what she could only describe as yippie on the other side complete with smile and jumping up and down.

Ryan: Well it's not every day you get to see two long dead relatives in a mirror, it's very nice to meet you Ronan, love the uniform.

Ronan had a wide grin on his face at seeing another of his lost siblings, and quickly started typing a response like Robyn.

Ronan: Thank you Ryan the feelings mutual, do you have the same powers as we do?

Ryan quickly slashed his cheek and the wound healed just as fast as it would for the other two hybrids.

Ryan: I do, but unlike you two I am retired at the moment.

Robyn: Why?

Ryan's face darkened and he looked away while muttering something under his breath.

Ryan: It relates to me saying we were kindred spirits when we first met, but more on that another time, we have a limited window before you lose concentration again and I should be giving advice, maybe try to recreate whatever led you to Ronan's world with me.

Fuli called the others over. Robyn watched Ryan react with amusement at Clara's arrival, but his face shifted to shock when he saw Kodi came into view.

Ryan: Is that, Kodi?

Ryan's expression looked absolutely pained as he kept staring at the oddly dressed Kodi, Robyn was about to ask what was going on when Judy arrived carrying Aaron. Aaron tried to use his new flying to leap to his mother's arms but instead clipped Kodi's head and he stumbled forward. Robyn quickly caught her son, and realized too late that she'd severed the connection. She tried to get in back as the eight mammals crowded around the mirror.

Then a new scene appeared before them: The green eyed hybrid who always punched the mirrors when Robyn saw him appeared again along with another Bullet and Mage, but this time they were in a shootout with someone out of sight.

Everyone spoke up at once and Robyn tried to get the image back to Ryan, but before she knew what was happening a familiar blue glow surrounded the mirror. 'Everyone get back," she screamed, but they were too piled up to do so.

The suction force came again and Robyn, Aaron, Kodi, Luna, Judy, Clara, Ronan and Fuli, were sucked into the light.

AN: And so the first arc comes to a close, what awaits them in the next world? Who is the "Robyn: of this world (okay kind of obvious), but find out for sure in three weeks time.

If you missed it at the beginning: there will be no new chapter next week due to Christmas, and for the week after...well…

Next time on Dimensions and Time: We check back in with the mammals left behind in Zootopia to see how they are holding up, Nick and Alice are asked a hard question, Skye delivers some tough love, and one mammal way overstays their welcome.

Happy Holidays everyone!


	9. Chapter 8 Taking the Sunrise for Granted

Hey everyone, we're back after a Christmas hiatus with the final chapter of 2019. Thank you so much to everyone who has followed, favorited and reviewed my story. As a thank you, I'm going to respond to some of the comments I've gotten.

Garouge Faux: It means a lot to me that the original writer of the Take a Stand series is enjoying my little spin off, hope I can keep it up.

Spookyyena: thank you for the consistent reviews, just knowing people are still reading is a big motivator to keep going.

J shute: I'm aware you have your issues with the emotional side of the story but I'm glad the plot has you intrigued, and at least one point you had will be addressed here. And as for your suggestion for a more visceral fight...your gonna like the next arc.

Esso Reese: Yes you were in that one, and you will be in another one

Guest/Traveling Fool: I think you're being too hard on Robyn. Poor girl got stabbed in the back by her wife, sister in law, and two best friends all at once, and they were all pretty nasty about it too. Asking her to forgive them easily is too much to ask. Also Judy did get confirmation earlier in the same chapter. I do understand that the team at its lowest isn't the most fun thing to read but we've gotta work through the issues, not ignore them.

Darkwingwolf8, BeecroftA, Robert Escher, and darkmessiah17, thank you for your reviews, encouragement and ideas. Please don't be afraid to leave a comment if you have something to say in the future.

Now without further ado, let's get rolling.

**Chapter 8: Taking the Sunrise for Granted **

"Look Hannah, I'm sorry but I got nothin for ya," a somewhat irate raccoon said to a striped hybrid.

"But you're from that crazy universe, there has to be something!" Hannah pleaded.

Rocket Racoon groaned lightly, his irritation kept down by his sympathy for his fellow gunslinger, "Just cause I'm from a universe where this kind of shit happens all the time doesn't mean I'm an expert on all this dimension travel nonsense, I'm a bounty hunter and a mechanic, not some genius science head."

"Little one, I think we've gotten all we're going to get from this," Jack Savage took his daughter's hand in his own, "thank you for coming down here Rocket."

"Yeah yeah, so when's Lylla gonna get back?" Rocket inquired about his wife.

"She and Skye are working on cover stories for the six missing mammals," Aleks Rojek spoke up from the room's doorway, "they will likely take awhile."

"Alright," Rocket sighed, "Look Hannah, Robyn and the rest of your friends are tough, one of them escaped Doom almost by herself, they'll be fine."

Rocket's attempt at casual and non worried reassurance flew right over Hannah's head, the last 18 hours had been a nightmare.

She'd left work yesterday confident that she was going to improve things with her wife that evening. She was a little concerned about Kodi's talk with Robyn, but she was going to get it right. Then the emergency call from Bella came through. The Wilde and Savage families gathered in the Bunker, and the absence of several mammals was immediately noticed.

Bella told an absolutely ludicrous tale: a mammal from another dimension pulled into theirs, him being Robyn's brother, talk of a world similar to theirs but distinct, and finally the seven mammals disappearing into a mirror. Even by their standards this sounded ridiculous, and it took the security cameras to prove it to some.

Then the panic set in. Her wife, her _son_, her mother and sister in law, a close friend and her best friend were all missing, lost in another dimension. And they'd been dropped right into a battle!

Alice was horrified and Nick was inconsolable, not that Hannah could blame them. She and Nick had refused to leave the bunker that night, and Alice only did so because she needed to care for her kits.

The worst part was the silence, not in the Bunker, Nick's soft sobs and a semi frequent flow of updates kept the noise level up somewhat. It was the silence from her wife and son that was so worrisome. Robyn could talk with mammals in mirrors, so why hadn't any of them seen her? Aaron had been able to talk to his parents across dimensions before, so why not now? Hannah desperately tried to think of any answer other than the worst, but the lack of context she had made that difficult.

In the end Hannah had cried herself to sleep, and eventually woke completely unrested. She called in sick for work and went back to sitting in front of the mirror, which Bella had moved to the lounge area. Alice arrived with Jasari and Mufasa soon after, her kits and a supply of baby care items in toe. Nick excused himself to make some calls to his office, it was clear he'd be running City Hall via phone calls today if he could.

Jasari expressed her sympathies, she was familiar with the feelings of a loved one being gone in another dimension. It was the mention of The Champion's world that reminded Hannah that they had someone from that crazy dimension living in Zootopia now.

In hindsight she'd placed far too much hope in Rocket somehow being able to fix this mess.

Now Hannah meandered away from the lounge and the unchanging mirror. She made her way to the conference table and sat down, not realizing at first that her dad had stayed with her and was gently rubbing her back.

Jack found no words were adequate comfort for his daughter and resolved to make sure she wasn't lacking for company. Hannah eventually leaned over onto her smaller father and let the waterworks flow once again.

000

Hours crept by at an agonizing pace for the friends and families of the missing mammals. Nick was eventually forced to spend some time at city hall, but he got away with the absolute bare minimum. Rocket passed the time doing random maintenance work around the Bunker's armory. Jack was eventually called away, but Bella promised to keep an eye on his daughter.

Hannah stayed near motionless as she waited for good news that never came. All she could think about were the mistakes she'd made in the last month. So many happy memories with Robyn were tainted now with new regrets. "I'm pathetic," she said out loud.

"No need to convince me," a cocky voice called, snapping Hannah out of her sulking. Rocket was sitting a few chairs down from her, absentmindedly sipping a soda.

"Rocket?" Hannah gasped, "what are you still doing here?"

"Lylla has the car, I fuckin hate Zuber, and I can't just steal stuff anymore," Rocket listed off, "and speakin of stuck, how lost in though were ya that that freakin pulse of yours didn't pick me up?"

A frustrated sigh escaped Hannah's lips, "Is that why I'm pathetic?" She _really_ was not in the right mind for this kind of attitude.

Rocket laughed, "Pretty much, classic taking the sunrise for granted."

"What?" Hannah deadpanned, not expecting poetic language from Rocket.

"Your wife you dolt," Rocket answered, "You, robo bunny, knockoff Strange and cat hulk took what you had for granted."

Hannah tried to change the subject, "Your talking about Lylla too right?"

"Of course I'm talking about Lylla, who else would I be, Quil?" Rocket sighed, "After I lost her some old geezer on a planet that didn't have space travel told me I treated her like the sunrise, always assuming it would be there even though it was so important. Kinda went over my head at the time cause I knew there are plenty of suns but you get the point."

"Fine," Hannah shouted, "I looked at my wife and thought it was okay to deceive her and now the whole family is in pieces, I didn't know how good I had it until it was gone! I'm pathetic!"

"Pretty much, but hey, at least your girl didn't have to die for you to see that," Rocket sighed, "still can't believe I got a second chance."

"And now my wife and son are missing and I have no idea what's happened to them!" Hannah screamed.

"They're missing in another world, you should trust there's a good reason they haven't come back," Rocket knew it was a bit underhanded, but he'd overheard Robyn and Hannah's argument in the graveyard where they fought Doom, so framing Hannah's worries as working against trusting Robyn was the best way he could think of to get her out of her sulking.

"Maybe," Hannah muttered, "but the Phelps from that world found a way around Robyn's healing, I can't not think the worst."

"Well then do something better than sulk about it," Rocket demanded, "train, do repairs, hit a sandbag till it bursts, anything other then nothing."

Hannah was quiet for a moment before sighing, "Your right, thanks Rocket." She got up and started walking off without another word, making Rocket wonder if she was just trying to get away.

A beep from his phone drew his attention, it was a text from Lylla announcing her return.

_Well, I tried._ Rocket thought to himself.

000

Nick slumped into one of the sofas in the lounge after his meeting with Skye. The meeting wasn't the cause of his exhaustion, in fact his old friend had done well to be concise for his sake. All the cover stories for the six missing mammals were in place and functioning, with the possibility to expand the length of the cover if needed. It was that if that had Nick worried.

The Wilde family was tough and capable in stressful situations across the board, but Nick had never really gotten used to his daughters being a part of Team Ceartais. Losing Robyn's brothers hit the fox hard, and losing his parents during the Snow Day attacks had only reinforced just how mortal his family was. Now his wife, both daughters and one grandson were lost in another dimension.

At least with Doom he'd known they were going to another world, at least the Drowned had just been regular mammals doing monstrous things, this was an utterly absurd situation completely out of nowhere and there was nothing the aging fox could do but wait and hope.

Powerless, that was the way Nick felt far to often these days. Powerless to keep his family safe from increasingly dangerous outside threats, and their own bad impulses.

Alice was on the other side of the room handing a garbage bag of diapers over to a Bella controlled Spitfire mech. She was practically living in the lounge so she was taking care to keep it from smelling terrible. Nick has held severe repercussions about Luna's ex-assassin of a wife, but the french lapine had proven herself over and over again. As Judy herself pointed out; almost every Wilde had needed a second chance of some sorts.

Nick got up and made his way over to Alice, despite her efforts it was obvious that taking care of five babies by herself on top of the worry for her missing family was taking its toll on her. "Need a hand?" Nick greeted with a question.

Alice looked up in surprise before a relieved smile spread across her face, "Marci Nick."

While nothing outwardly antagonistic happened while the two played with and cared for the five baby bunnies, it was obvious to Alice that Nick was unhappy with her. Every sentence was curt and no dialogue was exchanged except when Nick asked or answered a question.

Alice finally decided enough was enough, so after she finished feeding John she spoke up, "Nick," the Fox looked up from Heather and Victoria playing with his tail, "I am more than capable of keeping my voice at an appropriate volume for the children, if you can do the same, then we can talk about what's on your mind."

Nick weighed his options for a moment while still flicking his tail back and forth for the kids, he let out a forlorn sigh, "I used to be a criminal Alice."

"I am...aware," Alice said, surprised by Nick's opening statement.

"Not a you tier criminal, but still," Nick sighed, remembering to keep his voice low, "if it weren't for two chance encounters with an otter and a bunny, I might've been hustling mammals for the rest of my life, probably would've wound up as one of those poor street mammals the Drowned messed up." Alice said nothing so Nick continued. "I was lucky enough to have two beautiful daughters, even though the...reality of hybrid pregnancy took my sons."

"Have you looked at the security footage Bella took?" Alice asked, "apparently it was really Ronan, from a world where he was the survivor."

"Please don't talk about that," Nick pleaded, "if I think about..._him_, I'll start thinking about, about my boy," already tears were forming in Nick's eyes. Alice was kicking herself for bringing up painful memories. "And if I start thinking like that, I'll, I'll realize there's a me out there who had to…had to hold his little baby girl who didn't make it," Nick was sobbing quietly now.

"Nick, I'm sorry," Alice said, desperate to make Nick stop.

"And thinking about that makes me have to think about Robyn, about Robyn being…about Robyn not being alive!" Nick's anguished cries drew the attention of the kids, though thankfully none joined him it crying. Alice was horrified seeing the normally cheerful mayor so depressed.

Nick saw through his tears that all five of the baby bunnies were now locked into him, curious eyes looking at the large fox innocently unaware of the pain he was in. Nick realized he held their undivided attention and pulled a trick he'd used with Robyn. He started by flicking one heat up and down, drawing their attention. Then the other ear, then both in pattern, before long he had squealing with delight. Bella has stealthily produced a handkerchief for Nick and Alice skillfully wiped his tears from the side while the babies were giggling.

It took some time, but eventually the babies tired out and Alice tucked them in for a nap. Alice had just stepped back from tucking Sayame in when a more composed Nick finally spoke up again, "I hope you realize how lucky you are."

Alice didn't miss the contempt in Nick's voice, as if he doubted the thing he hoped for, "I know I am, I live every day happy that this family took me in."

"Certainly didn't stop you from trying to throw it all away," Nick replied.

"That was never my intention," Alice replied, staying calm, "I know I underestimated just how damaging our actions would be, if I could take them back I would."

"Honestly Alice, I thought you of all people would be able to understand why Luna did what she did and be appropriately mad about it," Nick expressed his disappointment, "I know it gets lost in the shuffle, but we are mad at her too."

Alice looked away. "I have forgiven Luna, even before the mission was over I realized I was too hard on her, saying she didn't deserve to call herself the kits mother was too much."

"For her yes, not so sure about you," Nick stated bluntly.

Alice took her well earned condemnation on the chin, "I will work every day to put those fears to rest."

"Aunt Alice?" A voice called out, the two mammals turned to see Mufasa had joined them in the lounge.

"Yes Mufasa?" Alice asked.

"Can I...ask you a question?"

"Of course," Alice patted the seat on the sofa between her and Nick.

"Is my dad a bad mammal?" Mufasa asked.

"What? Where is this coming from?" Alice was immediately alert and attentive.

"Aaron told me everything, and i"m not dumb, everyone's been acting kind of wierd around him lately," Mufasa muttered.

"Your father isn't a bad mammal," Nick reassured, "but he did a bad thing and a lot of us aren't happy with him." Nick decided that honesty was the best direction at this point.

"But you're supposed to try and make it right when you mess up," Mufasa complained, "and Dad just...quit."

Alice perked up, "Mufasa, it's good that you're thinking about these things, your father does have a lot to make up for, but it's him retiring from Team Ceartais that's really bothering you, isn't it?"

Mufasa nodded, "Roar's a hero, so is Dad not a hero because he's not Roar anymore? I don't get it"

"Mufasa," Nick consoled, "You obviously have a lot of questions, but you should be asking your father those questions, we can only tell you so much."

"Alright," Mufasa weakly agreed before suddenly hopping off the sofa and walking off.

"Kion and Jasari will be able to make him feel better once they know what's really going on," Alice said.

Nick turned and walked away, "I hope so Alice, because right now things aren't good. Now get some rest."

"What?"

"Those kids won't be asleep for long, and you're sleep deprived as is" Nick explained, "Get some sleep, Bella and I will watch the kids."

Alice took her seat on a sofa and, before she knew it, exhaustion from the past several days caught up with her and she drifted off to sleep.

000

It turned out that Hannah did take Rocket's advice, but not exactly in the ideal form. She was in the training area and had been for over an hour, her fists smashed into a punching bag over and over again. Her knuckles were actually starting to bruise even with her healing in effect. Still Hannah kept at it, the physical exertion helped to keep her mind from dwelling on anything. Her mind ran through various memories briefly before they slipped away, but overtime those memories began to take a pattern.

_Princess, don't make this harder than it already is. _Thunk.

_Why would you keep this from me!? _Thunk.

_Honestly? Totally worth it._Thunk.

_Maybe it is childish, but I don't care anymore. _Thunk.

_I know I did the right thing. _Thunk.

_But there has to be some consequences for what she's done. _Thunk.

_And what you lot did too. _Thunk.

_Wind your neck in Olivia, we did what was needed. _Thunk.

_If your pride is worth so much to you Olivia, then fire me. _Thunk.

_We're about to be mothers and you couldn't trust me. _Thunk.

_I never meant to hurt you, I love you. _Thunk.

_But love and trust are two seperate things. _Thunk.

_I can't work with someone I don't trust. _Thunk.

_I'm mad, _Thunk.

_Because, _Thunk.

_You, _Thunk.

_Didn't, _Thunk.

_Trust, _Thunk.

_Me, _Thunk.

With a final furious thrust the punching bag broke. The casing, now coated with some of Hannah's blood gave way, and the sand spilled onto the ground and over the striped hybrid. Hannah's fists stung from the abuse and the sand that got into her open wounds. Her hot sticky tears mixed with the coat of sweat she'd worked up all over her body. All she could think of was that terrible morning when the group fell apart, and just how horrible she'd behaved. When she was punching the bag, she pictured her own face, or Kion's of Kodi's or whoever else she was mad at, but it kept coming back to herself.

The bag finished spilling out but Hannah still could only focus on all the mistakes she made, she couldn't imagine the pain Robyn had felt as all of them tried to justify their actions with no remorse. She put everything into her next punch, but the now empty bag offered no resistance and she overextended. Before she could hit the ground a strong hand caught her in her midsection.

Hannah was gently led to the ground and sensed that the one who caught her was her mother. Skye looked down at her daughter with a mixture of disappointment and sadness, how she had fallen so low in such a short time was almost beyond her.

"Are you OK?" Skye asked a rhetorical question.

"What do you think?" Hannah bitterly remarked.

"Don't take that attitude with me Hannah," Skye barked back.

Hannah winced then took several deep breaths to calm herself, "I'm sorry Mom, about, about all of this."

Skye took her own deep breath before addressing her daughter again, "Hannah, do you want things to get better?"

"Of course I do," Hannah quickly responded.

"Then you need to stop beating yourself up over this, that's for everyone else to do," Skye said in a soft but stern voice.

"It's just, I just can't believe how badly we treated her."

"Well you did," Skye replied, "now you need to start letting things get better."

"But how?"

"Spar with me," Skye said.

"What?"

"You heard me Hannah, get up and practice with me," Skye repeated.

Still confused, Hannah did as her mothers are asked. Skye walked over to a nearby chair and put her coat on the back. Both ladies grabbed some padded gloves and headgear, then they turned and took basic fighting stances in front of each other.

Skye moved in first, she made a fainting blow to the left that Hannah incorrectly read and moved to counter. This left her wide open for her mother to score a connecting blow to the gut, though she merely pushed back instead of punching. Hannah went back quickly jumped back more to collect herself, but Skye was on her again before she could take any offense measures.

"You're unfocused," Skye stated.

Skye continued with a series of forward punches from several angles, Hannah deflected them all but her attempts at countering were easily pushed aside. Deciding a change of tactics was needed, Hannah attempted her unique dance battle technique and tried to pivot herself to her mothers left. Skye read her daughter's move and expertly swung her leg out in a wide arc. The sweeping blow knocked Hannah's feet away from the ground and she came crashing down.

"You're slow," Skye stated.

Frustrated with herself, Hannah attempted an uppercut from her kneeling position, but Skye swiftly stepped back and Hannah was again left open. Deciding that enough was enough Skye grabbed the attacking arm then shifted her position to pull the arm behind Hannah's back. Hannah was again on the ground this time with her left paw pinned beneath her stomach and her right arm held tightly behind her back.

"You should be running rings around me and yet here we are," Skye stated in a softer voice.

Hannah was both humiliated and frustrated, "What was the point of all of this?" she pleaded with her mother.

"To prove a point," Skye replied. "You've made such a mess of yourself that you're losing to me."

"All right, yes I'm a mess, but what's the point of reminding me," Hannah cried.

"Because you seem to of forgotten a pretty basic lesson; if you want to effectively help and take care of others you need to take care of yourself first." Hannah gave her mother a surprised look. "Hannah, I know you're worried, I am too, and I know that this past month has been hard for you and honestly I haven't helped. But you need to take your own role in making things better and continuing to beat yourself down is just going to drag everyone else down with you."

Hannah sniffled, "I was going to talk to Robyn yesterday, before she disappeared. I want her to feel better and I was going to try and help with that."

"You had a plan?" Skye asked.

"Yes," Hannah replied, "Kion and Jasari were going to babysit Arron, and I was going to take Robyn out to dinner at the same place we went on our first date all those years ago. They finished rebuilding it last year."

"Oh honey I'm sorry," Skye sympathized, "but you can still do that when she gets home."

"I guess so."

"And when she gets home is she going to find her wife a complete mess or as someone who never lost faith in her coming back?"

Hannah finally found some steel to put in her voice again, "Someone who never lost faith no matter how worried she was."

Despite her being covered in sweat and stinking Skye pulled her daughter into a hug, "That's my girl, but seriously you desperately need a shower."

Hannah gave a very weird laugh in response but took a moment to smell her self and agreed. Unfortunately the touching moment was interrupted by the sound of shouting.

"What the hell are you doing here!?"

000

Kion, Jasari and Kiara stepped out of the elevator and into the bunker, none of them in a good mood. The Priderocks had not been called when the missing mammals first vanished and had to hear about it through Alice calling Jasari for help. Now the workday was over and Kion wanted answers. Yes he had quit the team, but they were still his oldest friends that were missing, he couldn't imagine what Robyn must've been going through with Aaron being lost with her. Jasari planned on giving her close friend a much needed helping hand. Kiara was there as a Camelot representative.

Kion was initially placated when Bella informed him that Olivia was also absent from the meeting, only to learn that it was because she was away on a business trip and she would not be home until the next day.

"So why was _I _not told that some of my friends are missing?" Kion asked aloud.

"It isn't obvious?" Kiara cooley replied.

"What does that mean?" Kion demanded of his sister.

Bella spoke up before things could escalate, "The situation is already highly stressful for the mammals involved, having you around was 90% likely to make the situation worse. In addition, your exit from the team put you at the bottom of the list of mammals who needed to be informed." Bella's rational and pragmatic reasoning did little to calm the irate lion.

"Kion, you quit the team," Kiara reminded, "you don't get to have your cake and eat it too."

"Where is Alice right now?" Jasari asked as the elevator doors opened. The hyena had no interest in perpetuating the current conversation.

"She has not left the lounge since you helped her set up this morning Jasari, save for necessary bodily functions." Jasari immediately set off for the lounge, leaving the lion siblings to catch up.

"Who else is in the Bunker right now Bella?" Kiara asked so she could know what was coming.

"Presently Director Savage and Hannah are in the training area, Mufasa and one of my mechs are in the entertainment center and Mayor Wilde is with Alice in the lounge," Bella informed.

"Alright, I can get a quick status update done while I'm here," Kiara smiled before looking over to her brother. Kion was standing in place after Jasari started to walk off, a visible frown on his face. "Kion," she called for his attention, "I know you mean well, but Mr. Wilde is going through hell right now and you are not in his good graces. If things start to get heated, you should leave."

Kion looked irritated by his sister advice, but nodded and then started following Jasari without another word. Kiara had mixed feelings, on the one hand Kion was her brother and he'd never given up on her when she'd gone missing after the wave. She still carried some guilt over what Lily had nearly done to him. On the other hand his actions as of late had been appalling, at times it felt like he took a bet on how many bridges he could burn. Him wanting to quit was fine, but doing so when and how he did it just showed unbelievable selfishness in her books. _Kion, you've always been a bit dumb but when did you become such an idiot._ Kiara lamented the current state of affairs before following her brother.

Kion saw Jasari enter the lounge area and his thoughts went to Alice, he knew the bunny had to be unimaginably stressed with the situation, especially on top of taking care of her kits and being unpopular with her own family. Kion had hoped that some more mammals would've come around by now, but if anything it was only getting worse.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Kion looked up to see an angry Nick Wilde was standing between Kion and the lounge area.

Kiara's warning from earlier went ignored as Kion answered, "Two of my best friends are in a lot of pain and I want to support them."

"Damn it Kion," Kiara muttered having rushed to catch up.

"They've got all the support they need, and they certainly don't need you!" Nick seethed.

Kion did not let his voice rise in volume, "Mr. Wilde I know things aren't great between us right now but this affects all of us, and there is no such thing as too much care and support." Kion hoped staying calm and pragmatic would make Nick see reason.

"Aren't great! Do you have any idea what you've done to my family Priderock!?" Nick had no interest in staying quiet. "This should be one of the best times of our lives but thanks to your little band of nutcases we're falling apart instead."

Kion was disheartened to see that his friends accounts of the state of the Wilde family was not at all exaggerated, "I know what we did only made things worse, but we did it out of necessity not malice."

"You used a pregnant bunny as bait for a fucking assassin!"

"She was safe." Kion retorted.

"No she wasn't, try saying that to a guy who's had to bury three sons!"

"Kion," a soft voice called, "the three mammals turned to see a tired Alice standing at the doorway, "I was in danger, we were too angry to see it, stop trying to defend what we did, it's only going to make things harder and if you can't accept that then please leave for now."

Kion was less focused on what Alice had said and more on how she looked. The assassin turned hero looked more deflated and defeated then he had ever seen her. She looked so tired with her droopy ears, bags under her eyes, and slouched posture. "Alice," Kion walked towards his friend.

Nick intercepted him immediately, "Did you not hear lion? She said to leave!"

"Remember what I said Kion?" Kiara called in frustration.

Kion threw his arms up, "Look I get it, we did some bad things are a lot of what we said was uncalled for, but we aren't demons or anything! Just because something I did hurt the family doesn't mean I don't care!"

"Bullshit!" Hannah called, having just arrived on the scene but hearing everything in advance. Everyone was caught off guard by her sweaty and filthy appearance, but she didn't give them a chance to focus on that. "You said you didn't care how childish you acted, well guess what Kion? You hurt my wife with your childishness so I guess you really don't care."

"That isn't what I meant and you know it Hannah!" Kion shouted in frustration.

"Considering your complete lack of regard for Ceartais' well being you'll forgive me if I don't believe you," Skye backed her daughter up.

"I wanted to retire," Kion moaned at yet another mammal closing in on him.

"Yes, and you did so immediately after doing something that ripped the team apart for no good reason, not only showing a lack of concern for betraying Robyn and Olivia, but denying everyone justice for what you did. And now you have the sheer gall to be frustrated at all of us being angry with you when it's the only option you left us!?" Skye rapid fired her condemnation.

"Kion!" Kiara pleaded, "Just leave before you make things worse!"

Kion didn't budge, "I just want…"

"And we don't want you here Priderock," Nick added.

"I'm having enough problems without your stubbornness," Alice added, "for my sake just leave."

Kiara watched as her brother dug his own grave even deeper and knew she had to do something, but damn it, she was right there with everyone else. Seeing the mammal she'd babysat as a kid so torn up, the bunny who was walking the path of redemption like she was so beat down, and seeing two mammals who had inspired her as a kid and that she still admired to this day so angry got to her. Kion needed to stop, so Kiara stepped forward, grabbed him by the shoulder, turned him to face her and slapped him in the face while saying, "Just leave!"

In her anger, Kiara didn't realize she had drawn her claws.

Kion hit the ground with a series of horizontal slashes on the side of his face, and he screamed in pain. Kion held one hand up to his bleeding face, but through his uncovered eye he could see everyone staring back at him, including Jasari. Kiara looked at her hand in horror while the others were shocked into silence.

The hyena was watching the kits for Alice but had come out to try and calm her boyfriend down. She was just in time to see Kiara's claws rip through flesh. "Kion!" she yelled and rushed forward.

"Jasari, I…"

"Bella get the medical wing ready!" Jasari shouted.

"Of course," Bella replied.

"Kion get to the medical wing," at his hesitation she added, "GO!"

Kion stood up and ran off, tears flowing down his cheeks. He remembered when he first met Jasari, she'd brought him into her shop to treat his wounds after he ran away from home. Now even she was telling him to leave. Kion sat unresponsive in the medical wing as Bella started to guide a mech to take care of him. "Everyone, hates me."

"I don't Kion," Bella assured.

"Thanks but, Jasari."

"Is almost here," Bella updated.

"Kitten," Jasari called as she rushed into the medical wing, "how is he Bella?"

"They will scar, but none of the wounds hit anything vital."

"Oh thank goodness," Jasari said through her tears.

"I thought you wanted me to leave?" Kion asked.

"Yes, to come here and get these awful slashes dealt with before Mufasa saw you," Jasari paused when she realized what Kion meant, "Oh kitten I'm never going to leave you."

As Kion reveled in relief, he thought back to the fight that had broken out, he'd had every opportunity to de escalate things but was too stubborn to take them. Things were falling apart and old wounds were reopening, he may have already done too much damage. "Robyn, Kodi, Luna, Clara, Mrs. Wilde, Aaron please come home soon."

AN: Oof, poor Kion fails to read a room with horrific results, things are fraying at the edges back home, but can our heroes even think about getting home in their current predicament.

Next time of Dimensions and Time: Our heroes enter a hostile world, meet some less then friendly familiar faces and Robyn sees something horrible play out before her eyes.


	10. Chapter 9: Dark Reflections

Hello everyone, we're back and ready to kick off the second arc of Dimensions and Time, this one is gonna be fun. Thank you so much to everyone who favorited, followed and reviewed so far, and I hope you enjoy this one.

**Chapter 9: Dark Reflections**

The unwelcome rattle of gunfire greeting every mammals ears as they crashed to the ground. The blue light of the window they'd come through disappeared as quickly as it had come. The sudden tumble into another dimension resulted in another pileup, and once again Robyn was on the bottom, this time with Ronan at her side.

The clanging metal alarmed the two hybrids, "Aaron!" Robyn called.

"Fuli!" Ronan did the same. Neither mammals was meant to be in the crossfire. Fortunately all the combatants were momentarily stunned by the sudden arrival of eight additional mammals.

"What the hell!?" A voice that unmistakably belonged to Hannah's shouted, a feeling that was echoed by almost everyone.

The Mage took advantage of the momentary distraction. He was stuck in the pile beneath Fuli, but he could still summon his shield. The translucent barrier surrounded the group. One of the cops tried to take advantage of the distraction to fire on the other group of costumes mammals but missed. The shooting resumed with both sides keeping an eye on the energy dome.

Sirius turned intangible and floated above the dome to get a better view of their surroundings. Startled oaths were uttered at the sight and both Bullet and one cop fired on the wolf. The bullets and dart passed through with not so much as a ripple. Sirius saw that they were inside a large warehouse that appeared to be abandoned. The large front doors had two police cruisers and four large mammals blockading them. What drew Sirius' attention were the three mammals taking cover behind some crates. Two of them were obviously Bullet and the Mage, though the outfits were a bit different. Mage's coat was tattered and the blue in Bullet's outfit was black instead. But the real eye catcher was the third mammal. He wore a red cloak that covered his head, arms and upper torso. His body suit was a deep crimson that went from his neck to his feet, leaving almost no fur visible. He wore metal plated gloves that matched his cloak. His face was covered by a chalk white skull mask, unlike Alice's cloth mask this one was a hard plastic. The only fur that could be seen was the bit of ginger surrounding his uncovered green eyes. He looked almost ghostly in appearance. One thing Sirius could not see on any of the outfits was the golden star of Ceartais.

Over the continuous sounds of gunfire and cursing, Sirius heard the district hum of helicopter blades and shot up through the roof. There was indeed a police helicopter circling the building, it's spotlight trained on something scurrying across the rooftop. The light finally caught up with its target and Sirius got a good look. It was a machine, clearly an advanced one at that, and it was arachnid themed. A central body had eight multi jointed legs attached, along with a head with twin red eyes and an abdomen at the other end.

Sirius retreated back into the building as the arachnid mech started to counterattack the helicopter. She saw that the cops were trying to advance on the pinned heroes but couldn't advance past the doorway. Her group had retreated away from the police to the opposite back corner as the other team. Bullet took another shot at the wolf but it again passed through harmlessly. As Sirius landed she saw that Scarlet, Maiden, Mage and Sergeant Red had all masked up and quickly pulled her mask from the travel pack she still had.

"What's the situation Sirius?" Red immediately asked. He was clutching Fuli's hand in his own, the cheetah looked terrified but was keeping a level head.

"There's three mammals over there, Bullet, Mage and Scarlet's equivalent, looks like he prefers punching," Sirius fired off her observations like she was reading one of her data sheets, "we've also got a helicopter fighting some kind of spider mech on the roof."

Scarlet looked up from her position hunched over Judy and Aaron, "I've seen the punching guy in the mirror a few times."

"Why aren't they trying to escape?" Fuli asked.

"If they make a break for it while that copter is still up there it'll just tail them," Mage answered from his position in front of the group, "that mech is trying to take it out while the others stall."

"We can't stay here," Maiden stated.

"I don't have anywhere I know its safe to open a portal," Mage responded.

"Then we should bail while they're still fighting," Sargent Red proposed. Any further discussion was cut off by the sound of an explosion up above. On an unseen cue the three native mask wearers dove from their cover and ran for the back of the warehouse and its second door. The cops immediately came in after but two of them were heading for Mage's shield.

"We gotta move, stay behind me!" Mage yelled and started towards the backdoor. The other's all followed with Judy carrying Aaron and Fuli keeping her head down as Red guided her. Mage broke his shield's dome to instead form a wide wall to protect them from flanking maneuvers, but the attack came from behind.

"Hey wolf slut!" Bullet's voice caught the group's attention just before she pulled the trigger and in the next moment Sirius went limp.

"Shit!" Scarlet yeller as she broke her friend's fall and slung her over her shoulders in a perfect fireman's carry.

"Thanks for the distraction fakers," local Mage called as he threw several spheres in the group's direction, on impact they broke and shot sharp pallets towards the group's legs. The heroes uniforms absorbed the impact and Fuli was far enough back to be unaffected, but Judy's lower pants were torn in several places and she tumbled forward in pain. Aaron went flying in the air with a panicked yell. With speed befitting her species Fuli shot forward and scooped up the little kid. Red grabbed Judy's arm and helped his alternate mother keep running.

"Shit, Crimson, Trickster stop! They've got a kid with them!" Bullet informed her teammates.

"What?" Trickster looked back in alarm.

"Now they're gonna pay," Crimson seethed. Despite the threat, the three mammals raced forward and made no further attempts to interrupt the group behind them as they fled out the warehouse and down an alleyway.

The heroes exited the warehouse after the three mystery mammals. Maiden, now leading the group, shouted behind her, "Veer left, we're taking a different ally then them!"

The group did so, "Do you think they'll let us go?" Fuli asked.

"Better safe than sorry," Mage reasoned. With a swift flick of the wrist he dispelled his shield and flung a flashbang card towards the pursuing officers. The resulting light and sound combo stopped the four cops just as they reached the doorway. The group didn't stop to see the results of Mage's stalling tactic, instead opting to race forward as fast as they could.

For several minutes the group ran straight down various dark alleys, never encountering anyone. Mage's HUD detected and interfered with any random camera that happened to be around. "I think this is the Canal district," Judy called.

"Then there should be plenty of abandoned places we can hide," Sergeant Red said without missing a beat.

"How's Sirius?" Mage called from the back.

"She's fine, no different than anyone Bullet's ever knocked out," Scarlet answered, very familiar with the physical signs of her wife's victims. The alley suddenly ended and the group found themselves at a tall fence surrounding a junkyard.

"Any security we need to worry about Mage," Maiden asked. Mage quickly checked and confirmed there wasn't, "Then lets hide in there," Maiden proposed. Red and Scarlet easily jumped over the fence, Mage flew, and Maiden and Fuli parcored there way up and over. The group worked their way behind a fairly secluded mound of scrapped cars and set the wounded down. "Anyone else have first aid training?" Maiden asked as she started searching her medical gear pack.

"I do," Red spoke up as he gently lowered Judy to the ground, "You always carry a diffuser for Bullet's tranqs right?"

"Yes," Maiden replied while handing him a roll of bandage, "patch mom up while wake up Sirius." Scarlet put the she wolf down in front of her sister.

"How did this happen?" Fuli asked, still holding little Aaron, "Didn't Mage have to use his magic last time there was a portal?"

"Yeah what gives Mage?" Scarlet asked. "Mage?" The wolf in question had climbed up one of the nearby piles and was keeping a lookout.

"There here," Mage announced in a low whisper, "the Ceartais or whatever they call themselves of this world, I can see that spider mech trying to flank us."

"Should we try and talk to them?" Red asked, preparing his gun and handing the bandages off to Judy in the meantime.

"They didn't seem like they were in a talking mood earlier," Judy grunted, "and they aren't deputized like you are if the police are after them."

"Too late!" Mage spoke up, "they're gonna attack!" Just as he said that the spider mech fired a pair of gas grenades towards the group. Red and Scarlet jumped up and swatted the pair of projectiles away from the group. Both red clad heroes saw one of the other team's members running in a pincer attack formation, The Trickster on one side and the red clad one on the other. The spider mech was also closing in. Mage saw the group was too spread out now to guarantee escape via portal, so he steeled himself for a fight. "Maiden stay with the other, I'll handle the mech."

"Be careful," Maiden pleaded while dragging Sirius' body behind an old joined her daughter with a slight limp, but Fuli took cover behind an old sports car on the opposite side of the pile.

"Aunt Fuli, I'm scarred." Aaron quietly cried. Fuli's heart ached at the experience no kid should have to go through, and her concern completely overrode the embarrassment at being called aunt by her boyfriend's sister from another world.

"It's gonna be okay Aaron, even if they somehow get through your Mom and the others I can always just outrun them," she tried her best to sound confident and put on a brave face for the little kid. The small smile she got in return told her it worked.

The first thing Sergeant Red realized about his opponent was that this Crimson guy was used to have the element of intimidation on his size. His mask let out an unearthly shriek as he charged forward, which combined with his skull masked worked to give the presumed hybrid a banshee like feeling. Red was unimpressed, he had faced down a goliath sized elixir mammal mere hours ago, and he calmly holstered his gun while he took a fighting stance. Crimson reached his target and lunged forward with a basic forward punch that Red easily dodged by ducking. He countered with a hard elbow to the gut and followed it up with a twisting uppercut to the chin. The crimson clad mammal stumbled backwards and Red could see the shock in his eyes plain as day.

"Your sloppy," Red stated, "You rely on your opponent being scared of you."

The taunting observation had the desired effect, "I'll crush you!" Crimson shouted as he charged forward, Red was confident he could easily defeat such a reckless foe.

While Red worked to drive away his opponent, Scarlet's was employing a stone wall strategy. The Trickster had halted his advance the moment he saw his opponent charge him. "So what kind of ninja are you supposed to be, an anime one?" He mocked as he hurled a pair of flashbang cards at her. Scarlet closed her eyes and ignored the ringing in her ears as she pushed forward. The wolf's cocky grin vanished at seeing his foe shrug off his attack.

"The kind you can't hurt," Scarlet replied plainly. She was used to Kodi's taunting and tricks from their training together, and while this wolf wasn't her friend, he was close enough that Scarlet felt she could read all his moves.

The Trickster tried to prove Scarlet's boasting wrong, he hurled wave after wave of cards at Scarlet, but only barely succeeded in slowing her down. Flashbangs failed every time, tranquilizers seemed to just slide off and shrapnel didn't have any effect. She also dodged just as often as she was hit, or knocked the cards aside with her staff. The wolf was losing ground quickly even as he constantly back up. Desperate for an opening he tossed a large handful of flashbangs while shouting, "52 pick up!" The repeated flashes and bangs did disorient Scarlet long enough for Trickster to scurry up a car pile to have the high ground. He looked back to see how his enemy had fared and saw she had vanished. A loud crunching noise behind him caused the Trickster to turn around in a panic.

Scarlet was standing on top of the pile and looking down on the Trickster, "You want to waste anymore of my time?" She said as she leveled her staff at him.

The Trickster wasn't the only Kodi Jones trying to use the high ground, The Mage had climbed up to the top of another mound of old cars to try and keep a good view of the constantly moving spider mech. He'd had no luck trying to hack the mech with his wand, so the machine was obviously very well guarded. His HUD display couldn't even tell if Olivia, or anyone else, was actually piloting the damn thing. His cards would be of no use in this battle, but the Mage was waiting for the right moment to bust out the magic. He'd only get the element of surprise once and he wanted to end this battle quickly, but the best way to do that might not be fighting.

"Listen, I don't know who you and your team are, but we don't want to fight! Us coming here was a total accident and we're just trying to get home!" Mage tried to reason with the presumed Olivia. The mech paused for a second and Mage dared to hope that he had at least opened a dialogue, but then the mech launched several mini missiles at his car pile. The Mage sighed and jumped into the air, _well, I tried_, right at the apex of his jump he shot forward towards the mech. Though the machine was expressionless, it's complete lack of motion conveyed that it's controller was stunned. Mage's raised his hand and a hand of earth emerged from below and reached for the mech. The spider was fast enough to dodge most of the grab, but one of its middle right legs got caught. Mage tried to pull a second hand up to finish the job, but the mech detached it's captured leg and jumped to the side. The spider tried to counter attack by shooting a wave of tranq darts at the flying wolf, but The Mage calmly summoned his shield again and the darts bounced right off. Mage resumed the chase as the spider hastily retreated from the barrage of earth hands.

Maiden stayed behind when her three fellow heroes intercepted their attackers. She finished helping her mother getting her cuts bandaged up. While she wanted to get Sirius back in the fight as soon as possible, her mother's injuries took priority. In a location as dirty as the abandoned sections of the Canal district there was a real risk of infection if the cuts weren't cleaned and covered quickly. The last thing they needed was a sick mammal when they didn't have advanced medical supplies. Judy stayed focused despite the stings the cleaning caused, keeping her eyes and ears open for any sign of trouble. Their opponents had four members according to Sirius, but only three had come for them so far.

"Alright Chief we're done here," Maiden announced as she packed up the leftover bandages. She immediately turned to Sirius and prepared the diffuser.

Judy moved to stand guard but stopped still when she heard the sound of metal scraping on metal. The veteran cop instinctively dived to the side and turned, a gunshot rang out behind her just as she moved. Judy looked up to see Bullet standing atop the car pile they were hiding behind, her guns aimed at Maiden. "It's Bullet," Judy shouted in warning.

Thankfully Maiden had heard the previous shot and turned with an arrow knocked and aimed. Bullet fired first but her headshot hit Maiden's bleeding edge nano machine mask and had no effect. Maiden fired her arrow and it struck the car behind Bullet and unleashing a short sonic scream. Bullet doubled over in pain as her hypersensitive ears took the full assault, but her leg kicked at one of the small mammal cars and set off a chain reaction. A group of small cars tumbled down towards Maiden and the still unconscious Sirius. Maiden dropped her bow and quickly grabbed Sirius and threw the larger mammal free of the crashing cars, but that left her no time no dodge it herself.

Judy raced through the dust to find her daughter partially pinned under the pile up, "Are you okay, anything broken?" She asked while trying to figure out the best way to free her daughter.

"No," Maiden replied, struggling to unpin herself, "but what happened to Bullet?"

Judy immediately spun around and saw that the blind gunslinger had vanished from her perch atop the car pile. Any questions on her whereabouts were answered by a scream, one that made Judy's blood run cold.

"MOM!"

000

Sergeant Red had to assume that his otherworldly brother had never faced anyone even remotely competent in his career fighting crime, because his fighting was unbelievably basic. Crimson was trying to brute force his way through the battle and Red was completely shutting him down. Red had needed his own enhanced physical strength to repel Crimson's onslaught, but his opponent had yet to land a single blow in return.

Crimson got back to his feet after another failed charge and glared daggers at Red, "You,are, so, dead," he threatened as he tried to catch his breath.

"My friends and I have no desire to fight your team, we can talk this out and…"

"Shut up you faker!" Crimson screamed before grabbing a tire from a megafuana's vehicle and hurling it forward. Red raced forward and slip under the oncoming projectile on his knees before blitzing Crimson. Crimson's forward jab was easily deflected by Red, who then proceeded to get behind his opponent and put him in a choke hold.

"I tried being reasonable, " Red stated as he denied the violent hybrid his air. Crimson gasped in horror as he found in harder to focus. He desperately tried punching at his attacker's head, but his punches were weaker than usual and Red held firm. Red did need to focus on his task completely to shrug off the head punches he received, so the ongoing battle outside of his one on one was lost to him for a time as he kept his hold.

Crimson eventually blacked out and Red let go, saddened that he'd had to fight one of his brother's but understanding what needed to be done. Then a primal scream of rage brought him back to the wider battle and he saw what had transpired while he was focused on his task. "Oh no."

000

The Trickster made an impulsive action as Scarlet leveled her staff at him. He hurled all of his remaining shrapnel cards right at his opponent. The resulting metal storm slashed apart Scarlet's unprotected skin and even tore her uniform in a few places. The wolf barely had time to breathe before the unbelievable happened. The pieces of shrapnel lodged in Scarlet were pushed out and all of her wounds closed with unnatural speed. Before the Trickster knew it his opponent was standing before him uninjured.

"How did…"

"Okay, I've had enough," Scarlet leapt forward and lightly elbowed Trickster in the gut. The wolf stumbled back and a light polk from Scarlet's staff sent him tumbling down to the ground. The hybrid then grabbed two car doors from a large mammal's car and jumped down to the ground as well. She placed one door on top of the Trickster and the other on top of the first, trapping the wolf for now.

"How can you do that?" Trickster demanded, "that's Crimson's trick!"

"It's a long story Jones," Scarlet deliberately dropped her opponent's real name to throw him off game, "one you guys never gave us the chance to explain."

Before Trickster could process the bizarre statement, a child's voice sounded out in panic and Scarlet turned in alarm, Aaron!" She ran off leaving the wolf forgotten.

000

Bullet was growing increasingly frustrated with this entire forsaken patrol. They walked right into a police ambush, been interrupted by _another_ batch of imposters who had taken a child hostage, mandating a sudden rescue mission, and now her friends were duking it out with the opposing team...and they were losing! Bullet's pulse let her sense that Trickster was on the defense and Nightspinner was dodging a _flying wolf_ of all things, what tech were these mammals packing? But the real cause for alarm was that The Crimson Banshee's opponent was somehow no selling everything her oldest friend threw at him. They needed to end this quickly, and that was her job. It wasn't how she planned it but the archer was down along with the she wolf and the bunny was a non threat. That left only the cheetah protecting the little koala. Bullet's gritted her teeth in anger, dragging a kid into this mess was beyond low, the kind of mammal she'd happily let Crimson do lasting damage to. The audible crying from the kid was only fuel to the fire.

Bullet rounded the corner and drew her guns on the cheetah, but the feline had bolted to the left before the shots had left the barrels of her guns.

"MOM!" The little kid screamed in terror.

_Don't worry kid, I'll get you away from them!_ Bullet swung her gun at the cheetah's feet to trip her as she tried to slip past, but the cheetah read her movements and jumped up to dodge. In the middle of her jump the cheetah lashed out with a powerful kick that caught Bullet in the chest, sending her stumbling backwards. The cheetah landed and started to make a run for it, but Bullet only smirked. Without even turning her head to face her, Bullet fired a shot from the gun still in her hand that struck the cheetah full in the back. She crumpled to the ground. Bullet wasted no time in rushing forward and scooping the kid up.

"Let go of me!" He screamed.

"Kid calm down I'm here to save you," Bullet tried to reassure.

"No, you're just taking me away, MOM!"

Bullet kept her patience, of course the kid was too scared to see that she was helping, it wasn't like the team's reputation inspired much good will anyway. She felt the koala grab her hands and tried to pry himself lose, Bullet simply tightened her grip.

Suddenly Bullet's senses went into overdrive, she saw, _saw_, the junkyard around her. All the aged vehicles for mammals of all sizes sprawled out before her, along with the somewhat soft dirt ground and the clear but starless night sky. The whole scene was jerky as her perspective changed against her will. Bullet froze in place, absolutely panicked by the sudden return of her vision.

"LET GO OF ME!" The little kid screamed again.

The sensation was overwhelming and Bullet just wanted it to stop, realizing this was somehow the kid's doing she swung her arm out in a downward arc. The kid came dislodged and smashed into the dirt road below.

"What did you do to me!?" Bullet demanded of the kid. With his heartbeat still steady, it took Bullet a moment to realize that the hard impact had knocked the kid out, he wasn't moving at all. Confusion was replaced with horror as Bullet realized what she'd done. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry I…"

"What the hell Bullet!" Nightspinner screamed over the comlink, "What are you, LOOK OUT!"

"GET AWAY FROM HIM YOU BITCH!"

Bullet turned slightly but suddenly felt a hard metal rod smash into her arm and upper chest with unbelievable force. She felt the bone in her upper arm and several ribs break as she was launched into the air by the savage uppercut. Pain exploded through Bullet's body but she didn't have time to dwell on it as her back smashed into a hard metal surface. She just started to feel the metal give way from the impact when unconsciousness mercifully claimed her.

000

Judy watched the whole thing unfold. She'd raced to Aaron's location after hearing his scream, but arrived only to find Fuli knocked out and Bullet a ways off. Then her heart froze when Bullet flung her grandson into the ground, demanding an answer for something Judy didn't know. With the fury only a mother could muster, Robyn struck Bullet in the side, the sound of breaking bones accompanied the sight of the hybrid being sent flying. Bullet slammed into a small mammal car at the peak of a car pile and the impact sent both toppling down the side. Bullet ragdolled down to the ground before finally laying still at the base. The sight of her daughter in law's counterpart so badly broken was nothing short of disturbing.

"It's going to be okay Robbie, he's just knocked out," Luna was examining the little koala in Robyn's hands. Judy ran over to her daughters to check for herself. It was true, Aaron's chest was rising and falling at a slow but steady rate. That didn't stop the steady flow of tears and incoherent jumble of worries coming from Robyn's mouth.

Kodi landed on the ground next to the group with Clara in his arms while Ronan brought Fuli, both were relieved to see the little kid was alright.

"Where are our doubles?" Luna asked as readied her diffuser for the third time.

"Retreating," Ronan answered, "that spider thing carried Bullet away in some kind of net stretcher and their Kodi carried...Reginald off."

"Well that was a shit show," Judy said as things finally calmed down. Luna finished reviving Clara who was still extremely groggy as the doctor moved onto Fuli. Once the cheetah was revived Ronan turned to Kodi.

"Getting back to what we were talking about before the attack, what brought us here Kodi?" Everyone was especially wanting for an answer after the latest battle.

Kodi held his hands up in defense, "That's the thing, I wasn't using any magic, that portal opened on its own."

"What!" Robyn questioned, "But you opened the portal in our shop and in the Bunker!" That got nods of agreement.

Kodi looked away, "I've had a feeling something was up since this started, when the mirror portals opened it didn't feel like my magic was doing it."

"And this proves it wasn't you," Clara realized.

"But if it wasn't you then what did this!?" Fuli loudly asked.

"And more importantly," Judy paused with her own realization, "how do we get home?"

The ominous implications of Judy's words didn't get to sink in fully before the sound of footsteps approaching drew everyone's attention.

"Yeah I don't think we'll find friends with the police here," Kodi surmised before turning and opening a portal back to the wherehouse, "coast is clear, we can figure out where to hide from here."

000

If it wasn't for the steel blood running through her body, Hannah Savage would've been dead. It was still a terrifying ordeal for her teammates watching the Dungeon's medical bay at work. Hannah's left arm had been broken at the humerus, with part of the large bone stick out of her arm. The same impact had broken several ribs and collapsed one lung. She had multiple severe bruises from her tumble along with a jagged slash across her face where a piece of glass had cut her. Finally her ankle was fractured as a result of the impact at the top of the pile. Wires and tubes were attached to multiple points in her body to help her steel blood with the recovery.

Watching the process, a brown mouse, a grey and white furred wolf and a ginger furred hybrid couldn't take there eyes off the operation as the events of the evening played out in their heads. They had lost to a team of imposters, and one of their own was fighting for her life. Olivia recalled the hastily put together rescue plan that had given Hannah the extraction job. Kodi thought about the sheer power and prowess the other team possessed and how anyone had gotten their hands on tech like that. Reginald Wilde simply had his head down in shame, remembering how he hadn't been able to land even a single blow on his opponent.

"I couldn't do anything," Reginald bemoaned.

"None of us could Regi," Kodi tried to spread the blame.

"That ninja bitch nearly killed Hannah and none of us could do anything, gah I want to cave that bitch's face in!" Reginald huffed.

"Considering she can heal as well as you, that may not be easy," Kodi sighed, "how did someone else get their hands on healing like that?"

"We can ask her when we bring her in," Olivia spoke up, "we went in cocky and hasty last time and they chewed us up and spat us out like candy wrapping. Next time we'll have a plan."

"That's correct Nightspinner," a raspy voice said over the loudspeaker, "trying to fight them and save the kid at the same time is suicide, we don't have the resources for that kind of investment."

"So what do we do Hightower?" Reginald demanded of the leader of Team Highshadow.

"We send in our best mammal for extractions," Hightower stated.

"And she's already standing behind us isn't she?" Kodi asked without looking.

"Yup," Olivia replied, "Slash might noy have been with us tonight, but once they get the kid safely away from those lousy Highshadow knockoffs, we'll fight them again.

AN: Well that escalated quickly, and this is only the beginning.

Next time on Dimensions and Time: Robyn has an idea, Kodi and Robyn start to patch things up and Slash makes their move.


	11. Chapter 10: Shadow's Reach

Hey everyone, we're back with another chapter. Nothing more to say except thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed the series. Now let's get going with Chapter 10.

**Chapter 10: Shadow's Reach**

Finding shelter for the night had been simple enough, but it was a small comfort to the eight mammal group.

When the dimension traveling members of Team Ceartais had landed in Ronan's world, they'd at least had him as a guide and were on friendly terms with his team almost immediately. Now they'd been thrown into the deep end with no friendly faces in a world they knew nothing about. Not helping matters was the fact that everyone's internal clock was confused; it'd been early afternoon when they'd left Ronan's world and here it was after midnight. They needed information, but they also had injured group members in the middle of the night, so shelter was the priority.

One truth about Zootopia, no matter the dimension, was that there were plenty of abandoned buildings throughout the city. Some were set to be condemned while others were just left to rot, either way it meant the Zootopia of this world had plenty of places to hide in for the night. The group decided against staying in the canal district and moved to the adjacent Rainforest district for better quality buildings.

The apartment they'd chosen was old but functional. The room they chose was meant for mammals as large as tigers so they could all fit. Between the two beds they had enough room for everyone to rest comfortably for the night. Not that they all were. With little knowledge of this world and an alternate Ceartais now firmly their enemies the group wasn't resting without a rotating guard shift. Two mammals guarded the hallway at all times while the others tried to get some sleep or just let themselves relax as they waited for daybreak.

At 3:00 a.m. Fuli and Kodi were on guard duty, Clara and Aaron were napping and Luna was checking up and Judy's cuts. Robyn and Ronan were in the bathroom using its mirror. While Robyn still had her handheld make up kit, the only part of the cloths Ronan's mom had provided that she still had, it was easier to use a larger mirror when showing the image off.

"And that's your world," Robyn said in a defeated manner, shifting from trying to see her world to trying to see Ronan's world had resulted in more static.

"Between this and Kodi not bringing us here I think we have to conclude that there's some outside influence in all of this, it's way to deliberate to be an accident," Ronan theorized. He was staying on task to keep his mind off his worries. His family had almost lost him less than 24 hours ago and now he was missing in another dimension. At least they would know why he wasn't contacting them.

"But the only one who'd have a grudge with us and be able to do this is Doom," Robyn responded, "and there's no way he's escaped."

"Do you have anyway of knowing for sure?" Ronan didn't doubt his sister, he was just checking every box.

"No," Robyn sighed, "not without asking...Robbie!" Robyn's face suddenly lit up.

"Who?"

"My counterpart from the world we went to during that rescue mission! Maybe she can get some intel on what's going on for us." Robyn began forming a picture of Robbie in her head, trying to get everything right. "If I could still see someone like Ryan then I should definitely be able to call her." Before further questions could be asked, the reflection in the mirror was replaced with an image of Robbie's living room. The human in question was eating a snack on the couch, probably during a break from work since she was wearing an outfit similar to what Robyn had seen her in when they'd met in person.

Robbie looked up from her plate and saw the two hybrids in the mirror. Her sandwich fell to the plate, forgotten as she hurried over, only to stop when she reached into her pocket and felt nothing. Robyn watched as her human self looked between the mirror and the garage door with uncertainty and knew what happened. She spoke and displayed a question on her phone.

Robyn: Your phone in the garage?

Robbie nodded in confirmation with a mix of embarrassment and frustration on her face, before bolting off to the garage.

"I admit she wasn't what I expected," Ronan said, Robyn couldn't see, but she imagined a slightly disturbed look on her brother's face.

"Yeah her world's messed up," Robyn paused as she considered her plan, "Ronan, can you go get Clara, we might need her." Seeing where she was going with that though, Ronan left just as Robbie returned.

Robbie: What's going on Robyn?

Robyn: We've got a situation Robbie and we need your help.

They filled in Robbie on their situation with as much detail as possible. Clara's initial annoyance at being roused from her nap was dashed when she heard Robyn's plan and eagerly pitched in. It got to the point that it was easier for Robbie to take pictures of Clara's text. After nearly 15 minutes they were done.

Robbie: Okay, I'll get in touch with Coulson ASAP and pass this on. Try and check in after 12 hours. That should be enough time to at least get something.

Ronan: That's wonderful new, thank you Robbie.

Robyn: You're a lifesaver.

Robbie: After you guys saved my sister and put Doom away? It's the least I can do.

Robyn: Just one more thing, can I see that picture of you and your brothers? I want to confirm something.

Robbie nodded and grabbed the photo, Robyn had burned the image into her memory but she wanted to be sure. The image of Ronan, Ryan, Robbie and Reginald together get a subdued gasp from Ronan. Robyn focused on her task and confirmed the features. Purple, brown, blue and green eyes for the siblings, Ronan was the tallest, Ryan had curly hair, it all fit.

A beep went off on Clara's phone that drew their attention, "That's the timer for guard duty, Ronan and I are up." Clara announced.

Robyn nodded and didn't need to turn back to know that Robbie was gone. Clara led the two siblings out of the room and Robyn saw that Ronan had a very sad look on his face. "You okay bro?" She asked while putting a paw on Ronan's shoulder.

Ronan sighed, "It's just, it's not fair," Ronan weakly complained.

Robyn's heart ached for her brother, she remembered her own reaction and how Hannah came to her. Hannah. Robyn pushed her own sadness aside and embraced her brother. Ronan returned the favor and held the embrace for a minute while he composed himself.

"I'll tell you about them later, okay?" Robyn promised.

"Yes, that would be...I'd like that," Ronan tried to compose himself, "It may be obvious but getting to meet you really has been the upside to all this craziness."

"Yeah, feelings mutual," Robyn nodded.

"Well, I shouldn't keep Fuli waiting any longer," Ronan resumed walking. Clara, who had patiently waited at the door for them, nodded and the two left the room. Robyn took one last look at the mirror and wondered how Reginald, if it was him, and his team were doing after the pretty hard loss they'd taken.

000

"Reginald, you should be getting some rest while you can," Hightower announced over the Dungeon's speakers. For privacy's sake a voice could be channeled from the central unit to any given receiver station in the underground base.

Reginald nearly dropped his weights in surprise and turned towards the speaker, needless as it was, "How can I sleep when Hannah's fighting for her life and that bunch of pretenders is still out there!?"

"Hannah's life is not in danger, and the plan for dealing with this dangerous team is already in motion," Hightower stated factually, "You can't do anything more right now so the best thing to do is rest up for when you can."

"And just spend that time resting thinking about how we LOST!" Reginald screamed, "all of us lost, Nightspinner couldn't land a single blow, Trickster got humiliated by that psycho ninja who sent Bullet flying! And I...I couldn't do anything to that cop...soldier, whatever he was."

"I understand how that feels, being powerless to protect the mammals we love," Hightower said in a softer voice, "but lashing out isn't productive for anyone."

"You would know, wouldn't you? After you made sure my Mom never forgave herself for what happened! Why start caring about my family after all that time!" Ronan accused.

"What I did to Judy was wrong, especially when she was suffering just as much as I was, but she is still my family and I'm trying to make up for it," Hightower knew it was probably useless, but they had to try.

"Are you, or is this whole team just your way of making sure there isn't another Luna!?" Reginald's dire question went unanswered. As he let the silence slip in he began to regret the statement. He knew how much guilt his leader carried for what happened to his poor half sister and using it as an accusation was too far. "I'm sorry, Hightower." Reginald's apology went unanswered and he knew that Hightower had likely stepped away from the operating chair to have a moment of peace. Unable to find the motivation to continue exercising, he flopped onto a workbench and let himself rest a little bit.

_Slash, you had better start turning this mess around_.

000

Kodi sat by the window of the apartment, looking out over the streets by himself. He knew he should be resting but sleep was eluding him. He absentmindedly shuffled one of his decks of cards and was so lost in thought that he didn't hear Robyn approach him. "So is there a reason outside the obvious that you're so bummed out?"

Kodi managed to not drop his cards and turned to see his old friend lean on the wall on the opposite side of the window from him, "Just...have a lot on my mind is all."

"Well talk then, we don't want our leader getting distracted right now," Robyn prompted.

Kodi looked away and sighed, "That's just it, Robyn, do you remember that talk we had in the garage."

"Yeah." Robyn wondered where this was going.

"You said you wouldn't vote for me as team leader, and based on what I've accomplished so far I'm starting to think you're right," Kodi said in a downbeat manner.

Robyn raised an eyebrow, "You did pretty well with the Phelps base raid. What else has there been."

_Don't sugar coat it,_ Kiara's advice rang in Kodi's hears, "I'm made leader right after helping to rip the team apart, fail to make good on my promise to start mending fences after the holidays and now there's this whole mess." Kodi leaned his head on the wall and looked up at the ceiling, "I don't want to let Olivia and everyone else down."

_Forgiveness is earned_, Robyn remembered her mother's lesson. _He hasn't, but he's trying, and he deserves the chance to prove he will_. "Look Kodi, I agree on the first point, but I was thinking the holidays would help things cool down too, we were both wrong. But this mission is grade A insanity and no one would have this under control."

"Maybe," Kodi said without enthusiasm.

"The competition doesn't help," Robyn added.

"What?" Kodi looked over.

Robyn counted off on her hand, "Former second in command, actual second in command, a police chief, a relief center head and the head of an LGBT society, this whole squad is packed with veteran leaders, kinda hard to stand out here."

Kodi actually chuckled at that, "Yeah, it's kind of funny actually."

"Look Kodi, we all want to get home, and we don't have time for hang ups right now. You're doing fine so stop worrying about that for now."

"Thank you Robyn, that means a lot coming from you." Kodi smiled.

Robyn stepped away from the wall, "hmpth, what are friends for?" Her statement was laced with sarcasm, but the sentiment was unspoiled. "I also think we should just avoid talking about what Luna and you guys did at all until we get home, last thing we need is more drama."

_The longer you stay the course, the harder it is to change_, Robin senior's word ran through Kodi's mind, this was a pretty specific circumstance though. "Agreed, but we need to talk about it again at some point."

"Not looking forward to it," Robyn said without turning around.

"Yeah, me either."

"Anyway, I'm gonna go check on Fuli, poor girl blames herself for what happened to Aaron," Robyn explained. "You should get some rest too, it's gonna be a long day." She walked off without waiting for a reply. Kodi, much more at ease then he was before, sat down in an armchair in the corner and took his best friend's advice.

000

The group gathered around the apartment table shortly after daybreak to discuss plans. Robyn kicked things off by recapping her conversation with Robbie, "...and she said to give her half a day before getting in touch with her again." Robyn finished her report and everyone looked thrilled.

"Sweetie that was genius," Judy said with pride.

"And this Robbie can really get in touch with the top scientific minds of her world?" Fuli asked for clarification.

"Yes," Luna answered, "she's just an engineer who works for S.H.I.E.L.D but her regular customer Coulson is high up their ladder, he's the one who can pull some strings for us."

"And believe me, they've got some crazy smart people who are used to this kind of insanity," Clara added, "Robyn I could hug you right now."

"Okay okay let's stay on task," Robyn tried to calm the room down, "Kodi, what's our next action." It was a deliberate act, she wanted to give Kodi the chance to prove himself.

Kodi was taken aback by the sudden attention, as everyone turned to him, "Well...Robyn's plan gives us something to work with on the big problem of us being stuck here, but the immediate problems haven't gone away." Kodi straighten his back and put some sterl into his voice, "We know almost nothing about this world, we have next to no supplies and no food at all," that statement made several mammals realize how hungry they were, "and most importantly, it's only a matter of time before we run into this world's Ceartais again. Given it's twelve hours minimum before we even get an update on our situation I'd say it's pretty likely we'll meet them at least one more time."

"And there's no way we'll have a peaceful talk after the last encounter," Luna lamented.

"So we need information, we need food, and we need to be on our guard," Ronan surmised.

"And to get the first two we need to go back out there," Fuli realized.

"I'm stuck dressed as Scarlet," Robyn spoke up, "and I know Ronan's the same, who else still has some civilian clothes." Fuli, Judy, Clara and Aaron raised their hands.

"Okay, so the three of you can go out there and get us some supplies and info," Kodi said, "Robyn, what are we doing with Aaron?"

"He's not going back out there until we know more," Robyn insisted, her son offered no protest, last night's events having put a good deal of fear in the kid.

"Then one of the four of us needs to stay with him here," Kodi looked at the Wilde siblings as he said this.

"Wait," Clara interrupted, "You can just fade in and out of your suit, why can't you join us on the ground?"

Kodi chuckled in embarrassment, "I skipped on getting dressed before the Phelps raid so I could rehearse my portal pitch one more time," he dismissed his Mage attire and everyone saw he was still wearing his pajamas from the night before. "Kind of conspicuous in these," he said before resummoning his outfit. That got a decent chuckle out of some of the group.

"At least one of us needs to shadow the civilian group," Ronan brought the group back on track, fearful of sending Fuli out with only one hero as company.

"And one needs to stay with Aaron," Luna continued, "so that leaves two to guard the perimeter."

"So who's the most stealthy and the least stealthy?" Kodi asked his team.

"Me for most," Luna said while activating her suits blackout feature, "and you for least."

"So you can shadow the scouts while Robyn and I patrol the area around here," Ronan recapped the plan.

"Which leaves Aaron guarded by Kodi," Robyn said without enthusiasm. She was willing to give Kodi a chance, but trusting him with her son was another matter.

Kodi realized this too, "If you'd rather stay I can…"

"It makes sense," Robyn interrupted, "the safest Aaron will be is right next to the guy who can summon portals. If something goes wrong you can just port to any of us, there's nothing of value to this building, we can ditch it whenever." Robyn tried to use logic and reasoning to calm her nerves.

Judy broke the brief but awkward silence that followed, "Well, the longer we wait, the hungrier we get, let's start this day."

000

It did little to put the group at ease, but the various members noticed that the rainforest district was fairly similar to how it was in their worlds. At least they hadn't wound up in a Zootopia too wildly different, something that hadn't been apparent in the dark. Scarlet and Red patrolled the perimeter of the apartment in a one block radius while Maiden tailed the civilian group. With no electricity, the food items of choice were bottled water and bagels. They thankfully had all the money they needed thanks to several wallets and Luna's emergency cash she kept in the base of her quiver.

The three were waiting in line when the conversation behind them drew their attention. "Hey, did you hear Team Highshadow had a big fight with the cops last night?" A teenage jaguar asked his friend, "right over in the canal district too."

"I'm starting to get worried about them," the young gazelle said in response, "the amount of mammals they've put in the hospital has been on the raise, someone needs to hold that group to account."

"Ha, good luck catching any of them."

"Excuse me, you two?" Fuli spotted an opportunity, "my friends and I are visiting an old friend in the city and I have to ask; is there some sort of gang war going on here we need to worry about?"

"Wow, has your friend been living under a rock?" The jaguar asked.

"Mike, that was uncalled for," the gazelle chastised his companion, "what my boyfriend should be saying is that Team Highshadow is no gang, they're a vigilante group."

"Vigilanties?" Fuli asked, feigning ignorance.

"Yeah yeah," Mike the jaguar spoke up, "they fight criminals all over the city and they ain't interested in being nice about it, but uh, unless you friend is up to something shady you don't need to worry about them."

"Highshadow? That sounds like the name of a bunch of drug distributors," Judy commented.

"Jessica, you know marijuana is legal in California," Clara replied while using a fake name for the bunny, "but, I do admit I'm curious about this group as well, can you tell us more?"

The gazelle took point, "There's five known members and they mostly operate at night, Hightower, The Crimson Banshee, Nightspinner, The Trickster and Bullet.

"Come on Josh, get to the good stuff. The Trickster's just some wolf goon who uses a lot of shady gadgets and Bullet's some ex-special forces or escaped science experiment or something and she uses these super advanced tranq pistols," Mike spoke excitedly, "honestly they're not the real stars. Nightspinner is this spider robot war machine, no one knows if it's got a pilot or not but it can move across buildings stupid quick."

"The Crimson Banshee is arguably the face of the team," Josh resumed, "he's been shot, beaten and stabbed but he just walks off everything while screaming this eerie call, he just beats people up with his fists and is very violent. Half the injuries attributed to High Shadow can be traced to him."

"And Hightower?" Clara asked.

"They're the team leader, and that's all anyone knows," Mike shrugged, "they mention him from time to time and that's the only reason we know he exists."

"Girls, time to pay," Judy called.

"Well thank you boys, this city is certainly a strange one," Fuli said with sincerity.

"Yeah sure," Mike said.

"Our pleasure," Josh nodded.

Back outside the trio started to head back, "So, any guesses on who this Hightower person is?" Fuli asked.

"Marian or Robin, maybe both," Judy speculated.

"Well either way, it looks like we're dealing with a smaller team in this world, they don't seem like the types to keep quiet about anything," Clara reasoned.

"And thank goodness for that," Judy said, "there's some members of Ceartais I wouldn't want to tangle with."

000

_They are quite good at this_, a certain member of Team Highshadow noted as they casually walked down the street towards their target. It was nothing they couldn't work around, but this wouldn't be a simple snatch and grab rescue. The mammal knew the time frame was limited and tucked away into an alley. They replayed the steps of the plan in their head as they stripped off the outer layer of clothing.

Tracking the group down had been a simple and only slightly lengthy process, but attacking them in their apartment was suicide. They outnumbered and far outgunned the lone mammal, so they waited and started putting together some plausible plans. Their window of opportunity came shortly after daybreak when most of the group left the building. The swat cop look alike and the red ninja moved to patrol the area surrounding the apartment. The cheetah, the bunny and the female wolf were in civilian clothes and the archer vixen was tailing them.

_An archer, _the mammal scoffed, _how the Hood lasted as long as he did with that weapon will always baffle me_. She did have to give the vixen credit though, They'd lost sight of her well before the three she was tailing had left the area.

They finished changing into their combat gear and stuffed the cloths into a backpack. The distraction was already in motion, if they didn't get this right there would be a whole squad of powerful mammals on their tail. They didn't need to harm any of them, just rescue the kid, but the thought of the kid made the mammal's blood boil.

A vehicle pulled up to the front of the apartment complex, "It's time," the bunny muttered as she fasinined her sword belt.

000

Fortunately for Kodi, entertaining a kid was a lot easier a task when both mammals had powers. The two were engaged in a friendly game of catch using a ball Kodi had conjured up. Aaron's telekinesis versus Kodi's magic, the goal was to go the longest without letting the ball hit the wall on your side. Aaron had developed a trick where he launched the ball in unexpected directions after he caught it in his telekinetic grip. This time he launched it at the ceiling and the angle caused it to ricochete into Kodi's wall.

"Woohoo, five points I win!" Aaron cheered.

"Good game kid," Kodi praised, genuinely impressed by the kids creativity.

"Thanks Mr. Kodi," Aaron grinned. Before he could say anything else, the doorknob started rattling.

"This is the ZPD, unlock the door and step away!" A booming voice demanded from the other side.

"Mage!?" Aaron shouted in alarm.

_Damn it_, Kodi though. He quickly gathered the group's bags and prepared to open a portal when the rattling stopped and a heavy thud came from the other side of the door. Mage paused his gathering and instead summoned magic rings around his hands, something was very wrong here. Mage approached the door cautiously, "Aaron stay back."

The little koala obayed and pressed against the wall, and his ears picked up soft but rapid taps coming from the other side. He turned his head to follow them until he was eventually facing the window. "Mage?" Aaron called in a nervous whisper. Then a mammal appeared in the window with something in their hand, "MAGE!" His scream coincided with the sound of shattered glass.

Mage turned just as a capsule hit the floor of the apartment, a large amount of gas was rapidly dispensed from the device, spreading in all directions. Kodi got a small dose before he was able to summon his shield to push the gas away. Aaron was not so lucky and got the full blast, his consciousness slipped away before he could even process what was happening. Mage had trouble focusing after inhaling the gas, his magic rings faded as he couldn't keep the concentration for them up. He looked in the direction of the attack, grateful his shield was still tech based, and his heart froze. His attacker was a white furred doe bunny in a black sneaking suit, with golden eyes and a red sword sheath on her hips.

_Not her, not her,_ Mage mentally begged.

Slash, as Alice Kirabito was known in this world, had slipped a small gas mask on to allow her to move through her own knockout gas. Her plan had mostly worked, though the wolf had managed to get his annoying shield up before he was knocked out. She couldn't riak hard projectiles as they might ricochet and hit the kid.

The half second of hesitation from Slash gave Mage time to fumble with his belt and presh the distress signal button to call in the others. Slash realized what he'd done and charged, knowing this had to end quickly. Mage tried the same trick he'd used on Typhoid Mary before, hurling a flashbang card at his shield to enhance the effect. He averted his eyes to avoid the stunning flash, then turned and hurled a tranq card at Slash.

He realized three things at once. One; he was still uneven from the gas and thus his form was poor, his card sailed right past Slash's left side without any need for her to deflect it. Two; Slash had read his move and closed her eyes to avoid the flash effect. Three; she was closing in on him with her sword drawn. Mage panicked and tried to role to the side, but Slash read his movement and easily kept pace. No magic, no time to draw a card, no tech to exploit and no time for a second dodge. Mage though as hard as he could and lifted himself off the ground in flight. Just as the sword tip slashed at his chest he flung himself backwards with all the force he could muster. He smashed into the bedroom door and tumbled to the ground, his vision now completely blurry. The sound of gunfire drew his attention and he saw the ripples appear on his thankfully still active shield. Back in the main area Slash stood with her pistol drawn, apparently hoping that the crash would've taken out the shield. Mage then watched in horror as Slash sheathed her weapons, turned and grabbed the unconscious Aaron, unlocked the door and leaped over the downed officer into the hallway and out of sight.

A full minute passed as Mage desperately tried to get to his feet, but the gas and the crash had made him too wobbly to get up.

"Kodi!" Clara called as she emerged from the bedroom floor. The she wolf was still in her civilian clothes but had rushed back regardless. She rushed over to her boyfriend and helped to stabilize him. Surveying the scene she asked, "What happened, where's Aaron?'

"Al…," Mage coughted, "Alice, this world's.."

"Alice attacked you?" Clara gasped.

Kodi stared at the floor in shame, "She took Aaron."

"What?" a new voice asked. The wolves turned to see Scarlet and Red had returned as well. "You, yoU LET HER TAKE MY SON!" Robyn pounced at the weakened Kodi. Were it not for Ronan jumping on his sister from behind and pinning her to the ground, Kodi's live may well have ended right then and there. Unable to escape her pin, all Robyn could do was scream, "I TRUSTED YOU WITH HIM AND YOU LET HIM GET TAKEN!" No one tried to interrupt Robyn's material fueled fury, "I GAVE YOU A CHANCE AND YOU DO THIS!"

Before Robyn finished her sentence everyone heard the sound of loud footsteps coming down the hallway. "We have a downed officer!" a voice was heard shouting. Ronan let go of his sister and bolted to the door to relock it.

"We need to leave now!" Ronan shouted as he rushed to grab the bags. Robyn threw Kodi one more hate filled glare before running after her brother to the window. Clara slung her boyfriend over her shoulder and awkwardly climbed out the window just as the door burst down.

Kodi watched the cityscape pass underneath him as he was undignifiably carried away from their temporary base, Kiara's words echoed through his head once more, _Don't mess up again_. But he had, just as Robyn looked like she was giving him a chance he messed up in the worst way possible. He'd been defeated with humiliating ease and he'd allowed his oldest friend's son to be kidnapped in the process. As Kodi felt the full weight of his situation set in, tears rolled down his snout and down to the street below.

AN: Can you say bad to worse? Slash kidnaps Aaron and Robyn is on a warpath. Can our heroes rally and save Aaron before anything worse happens?

Next Time on Dimensions and Time: Two teams collide, Robyn flies off the rails and it's up to one mammal to stop the downward spiral.


	12. Chapter 11: The Stars Collide

Hello everyone and welcome to a chapter I've been looking forward to for a long time. Thank you so much to everyone who favorites, follows and reviews this series, and now let's get to this explosive chapter.

**Chapter 11: The Stars Collide**

Four hours, that's how long it took seven mammals from other dimensions to track down the location of Team Highshadow's HQ. It had taken the hacking of several police databases, the eventual use of Mage's portals to look at physical evidence, along with unconfirmed sightings online, knowledge of the Bunker's location in their worlds and copious use of Kodi's HUD to scan for underground tech buildup throughout the city to finally locate it. The base seemed to be around the same size as the Bunker, but it was underneath an active business building in Savanna Central.

Under normal circumstances Judy would've balked at the amount of laws they were breaking, but imagining Aaron's horrified face and the sheer absurdity of their situation made her shove all her doubts aside. Combing through police evidence gave her some flashbacks to her days doing detective work, and it was she who made the major breakthrough. She had noticed that, like Ceartais, Highshadow operated mainly at night, and that many of their early sightings were in the Central district. That led to Mage and Sirius doing a sweep of the whole area scouting for the location. Fuli and Ronan did the online searches for sightings as well as any information they could gather. Maiden stood guard at any location they moved to, as a base or a break in. It was a true team effort that kept everyone on task, which is why it was a shame that the one exception to that had to be Robyn.

Judy, Luna and Ronan has taken turns being there for the distraught hybrid; who's skill set was useless to the tracking process. Not to mention she was perpetually panicking and was no use being stealthy or guarding. Her three family members did what they could to keep her on task; Ronan and Judy even making up excuses for her to help out in their searches, but it was clear Robyn was at her wits end. At least her anger with Kodi had been lost in her worry over her son, but the wolf still made it a point to be out doing something at all possible times. So it was an enormous relief when they finally found what they were looking for. Now the seven were assembled in a closed office room in one of the neighboring buildings, which they'd accessed via a portal, putting together their plan of attack.

"I haven't tried disabling anything in their base yet," Kodi explained as he kept a downward view of the underground base, "if they have a Bella she'll tip them off."

"Can you see Aaron?" Robyn pleaded.

"Not from here, the only one I can kind of track is my counterpart, I think he has his phone on him," Kodi explained in an apologetic tone.

"Ideally we'd extract Aaron without much of a fight, but I don't know if we can avoid that," Ronan lamented the inevitable.

"And we have no idea where they have Aaron?" Fuli asked.

"He's not in any of the outer layer of rooms," Clara explained, having done some initial probing without going in too deep, "we don't even know if he's in there at all."

"Then we access their central computer and get that information," Judy said with determination.

"Mom's right," Luna explained, "we try to be stealthy and get Aaron without being noticed, but if things go loud and Aaron isn't there, we may have to beat them head on."

"If he's anywhere in there, it's probably this big central area right in the middle," Kodi explained, passing his mask around so the others could see.

"Well then enough planning," Robyn said loudly, "let's get my son back!" Her eyes were bloodshot from crying, earning her many a sympathetic eye.

"What the?" Luna spoke up, having seen something weird in Kodi's mask. "There's an elevator connecting the building to the Bunker, and someone just went down into it."

"Our mysterious Hightower," Fuli proposed.

"But who are they?" Judy pondered, "Marian doesn't strike me as being able to stomach business."

"She is alive here," Ronan announced, "I did some digging on our counterparts. You and dad work for the police and have two kids, nana is alive and retired but grandpa's dead. Most of the rest of the families line up."

"And with everything else that's different who knows how she turned out in this world," Luna reasoned.

"Well there's one way to know for sure, let's go meet them in person," Robyn declared.

000

"And you're sure there's no record of him in any database?" Olivia Dawson asked the Dungeon's AI Hella.

"Positive Ms. Dawson," Hella replied, "This included missing children's catalogues from neighboring cities and counties, he does not exist on record."

"Then he's homeless or something and we just drop him off at a good orphanage," Reginald called from down below.

"We shouldn't commit to that until we know for sure," Alice countered.

"Well at least he's away from those fackers, now we can go all out," Kodi tried to change the subject.

"I find the term fakers ill fitting, they bested you three and Hannah in combat and that wolf survived an encounter with me only slightly wounded," Alice reasoned, "they are very good at this."

"We're still gonna pound them into the pavement," Reginald stated.

"Like last time?" Kodi asked, "I want to settle the score too but we need a better plan of attack other then just, attack."

"Agreed," Olivia announced, "at minimum we're up against two flying wolves, one of whom can turn intangible and the other with an arsenal surpassing Kodi's," that earned a small snarl from the wolf in question, "a martial artist skilled enough to neutralize Reginald, a ninja with the same powers as him," Reginald seethed at the reminders, "and three additional mammals of unknown capabilities," Olivia finished her recap.

"One of those unknown mammals is the archer vixen," Alice spoke up, "I lost sight of her well before I intended to when she was shadowing their civilian group, she's good at what she does."

"You really couldn't have taken some of them out?" Reginald moaned.

"My mission was to save the child and I would never risk harm to him!"

Before the conversation could continue, Hella spoke up, "If I may interrupt, Bullet has awoken." That brought the conversation to a sudden halt before everyone turned and made there way to the medical wing, with Alice doubling back to give Olivia a faster ride.

The central chamber of the Dungeon was also the largest. At its peak was a massive multi computer display and a swirling chair for Hightower. It gave a clear view of a conference room table in the middle of the ground floor, as well as various doorways to other vital features. These included a docking bay for the Nightspinner mechs, a training and exercise area, a changing room and a medical bay. The latter was where Hannah and the recently rescued koala were being kept, and the former had just awoken.

Reginald, Kodi and Alice with Olivia on her shoulder gathered around a now lucid Hannah.

"What happened?" Hannah asked with a very weak voice.

"That red ninja with the fakers got you with her staff, you nearly died," Reginald didn't hold back.

"I remember...flying?" Hannah asked herself.

"That ninja girl has the same powers as Reginald," Olivia informed, "her hit was more than enough to fling you off the ground."

"You really had us worried Stripes," Kodi said with tears of relief in his eyes.

"But...the mission...what?" Hannah's voice was still pained, making all her team inwardly wince at how close they'd come to losing her.

"We lost," Olivia confessed, "straight up lost."

"Alice did save the kid though," Kodi tried to brighten the mood, "he's actually right here in the med bay."

"Still sleeping off the knockout gas though," Alice mentioned.

"He's...here?"

"Yeah, we're having some trouble figuring out where he came from, but it'll sort itself out," Reginald brought his friend up to date.

"The kid," Hannah muttered.

"Yes Hannah, the kid you threw against the ground for seemingly no reason," Hightower's voice came over the speaker, "and while I am glad to see you awake, that action requires an explanation."

"Hightower come on," Reginald complained, "she just woke up!"

"It's fine Regi," Hannah responded, "It's just...something feels off about this."

Alice tilted her head, "Meaning?"

"He was relatively...calm, before I got him away from that cheetah," Hannah explained, "after that he started to panic and...call for his Mom."

That did get a pause from everyone, but only a brief one, "Well that's probably because he was away from his captors and just wanted to go home," Olivia reasoned.

"Or maybe he'd been conditioned to think of that group as his parents?" Alice put a dark option on the table.

"It's an interesting observation," Hightower spoke up, "one that we can follow up on when we bring that team down, but you haven't actually answered the question Hannah."

"Right," Hannah agreed, finding it a bit easier to speak now, "as I was getting away with him I, I think it happened because he grabbed my hand and I, I know this doesn't make any sense but I…"

"Hightower," Hella suddenly interrupted in an urgant voice, "something has caused my security camera footage to play on loop."

"Something hacked into you Hella!?" Olivia asked in astonishment.

Hannah pushed the talk of her friends to the back of her mind and focused on her pulse powers. Well within the Dungeon were seven different mammals, "There here!" she shouted.

"What!" Reginald asked.

"Who?" Kodi asked.

"That team of fackers, they're in the Dungeon!" Hannah shouted and then coughed violently.

"I've regained control of my security footage," Hella reported, "Hannah is correct, the enemy has gained access to the Dungeon!"

That revelation had most of the team stunned into motionlessness for a few moments, but not their leader, "Slash escort Nightspinner to her mech, Trickster, Crimson suit up and quickly, I'll put the medical bay in lockdown mode! Go!" Hightower's voice rang with urgency and the team obayed.

Hannah felt her friends rush off to battle and the security doors of the med bay seal it off from outsiders. It was only after she was left alone that Hannah realized something; the little koala was actually awake and had simply been lying motionless. "Kid, I can tell you're awake." At his sudden freeze Hannah softened her voice, "It's okay, I promise I won't hurt you again, my friends and I are just trying to help you."

"They're gonna lose," the kid said simply.

Hannah found she couldn't muster the confidence to disagree, this would be a hard battle, "I know those mammals are scary, but we're going to get you back home."

"You aren't my mother," was the kids confusing response to Hannah's reassurance.

"Kid, what do you mean?" but the koala said nothing more and Hannah was left with a boat load of questions and an equal amount of worry for her friends.

000

Sirius had slipped into a small corner of the native team's base and let the Mage open a portal to her location. Mage hacked a single camera to play on loop before widening the portal and letting the rest of the group through. They were in what appeared to be a storage room. Even now that they were inside the base he still didn't know where Aaron was, so the group carefully proceeded down the corridor. They were on the lowest level and so proceeded up, Mage keeping an eye on his HUD display the whole time. Just as the group emerged in what looked like a training area, Mage noticed activity in a hanger with various Nightspinner mechs and other security systems across the base.

"They know we're here!" he announced. The others weren't happy but they knew this was probably inevitable. They quickly advanced through the training room, Mage trying to hack various parts of the base as he went, but Hella being aware of their presence made it difficult. They emerged in what was clearly the central chamber and Mage immediately threw his shield up. Several hidden turrets opened fire on the group but couldn't penetrate the shield with bullets or tranq darts. Sirius saw a turret armed with mini missiles taking aim and flew up to blast it with an electric surge. Maiden did the same with an explosive arrow.

"We need to spread out or we'll get boxed in!" Judy shouted. Even as she said that they could could see Trickster and the Crimson Banshee emerge from a door far to their left and Nightspinner emerge from a door straight ahead with two back up mechs.

I'll keep Bella off everyone's back!" Mage declared as he flew up to the center of the room and started and continued to keep the computer at bay. He still couldn't touch Nightspinner's main mech, but was able to hack one of the back up mechs and turned it on it's own base. Fighting the whole base was an exercise in micromanaging in the middle of a battle, but Mage was determined to make up for his last defeat.

Nightspinner watched the opening of the battle unfold from the cockpit of her mech. So far that flying wolf with the annoying shield was holding Hella off, but at least he was drawn away from his teammates in the process. Suddenly her display showed that one of her mechs was deviating from it's programmed course and was instead attacking the base's defenses. "Hellfire!" she seethed at the skill of the enemies' hacker, but her attention was drawn back to the mammals in front of her when a surge of electricity stormed out of the other wolf's hands. Nightspinner managed to jump up and dodge, but her other back up mech was caught in the surge and slumped to the ground with its circuits fried.

The tanish she wolf was flying at her with more power flowing from her hands, Nightspinner quickly scurried across the walls and fired back, being careful not to hit her allies or be hit by the base's defenses. The wolf simply turned intangible whenever she couldn't dodge and avoided all of Nightspinner's attacks. As she dodged in return Nightspinner took note of her allies. She saw the archer aim another explosive arrow at Slash's hiding place to force the bunny into the open. Slash's thrown kunai merely grazed off the archer's outfit and Nightspinner could practically hear the merde from Slash's mouth. The two combatants closed in but Nightspinner had to look away to keep up with her ariel opponent.

Scarlet charged the two mammals emerging from a room to her left with total fury in her heart. These mammals had kidnapped her son and no force in any world would stop her from getting him back. "I'll take Trickster, you take Crimson," a voice, it sounded like Red's, called from behind. She took the advice for simplicity's sake and barrel rushed straight at the phony undead vigilante. As they closed in Scarlet could see a burning fury in the green eyes of her opponent, but it paled in comparison to her own outrage. She didn't go for the staff, she wanted to feel bones break under her fist. The two hybrids both sent a forward punch that slammed into each other's faces and broke their jaws. Both fell back but were closing in again before the wounds had fully healed. The two knew in the back of their minds that this fight could go one until one of them passed out from exhaustion, but neither one cared at the moment.

Maiden was quickly noticing something very strange about her battle with this world's Alice; she was keeping up with her. Maiden was no slouch in physical combat, but to this day her wife could still have her outmatched without too much effort. This Alice was going all out from the start, and yet Maiden was more than keeping pace, in some instances she was putting her on the defence. Maiden deflected a sword strike with her left baton and and made a jab with the butt of her right one. Slash ducked and made a wirlwind swing at Maiden's legs but she jumped over it and made a downward thrust with her baton. Slash used the momentum from her swing to roll in a dodge before jumping high in the air and trying to attack her opponent from above. Right as she hit the apex of her jump and was nearly upside down, a strong let struck the bunny in her side and sent her flying a good distance away.

Maiden saw that Fuli had slipped in beside her, "Good hit, but you won't get lucky again with her, try and find Aaron," she knew the cheetah was determined to help so she might as well take a relatively risk free job.

"Got it, kick her ass," Fuli noted toward Slash before running off. Fuli's attack confirmed what Maiden had suspected all along; this Alice was very good, but was noticeably weaker than any other version of her they'd encountered. No other Alice would've been caught off guard by a civilian like that, no matter how fast Fuli was. With that fought in mind Maiden closed the distance again, this time ready to go more offensive.

The Trickster was once again dealing with an opponent who was clearly holding back against him. The swat cop like opponent he was fighting had disabled Crimson without much hassle, but now he was trying to stick to using his gun. Normally that would be the point where someone went all out, but the bullet's fired were tranq bullets like the ones Hannah fired. Trickster had been struck by his friend's signature projectile before but was mostly immune thanks to the injections that let him safely hold his tranq cards. The two had mostly exchanged useless ranged attacks as they jostled for position, eventually ending up back in the changing room. Trickster readied another shrapnel card when a female screech rang out.

"Fuli!" Red turned and saw his girlfriend being pursued by another mech, but this one was very different. It was modeled after a female feline a little smaller the Fuli and was wearing garb similar to Alice's Ronin outfit. It was also dual wielding short swords and was moving very fast. Red felt a bunch of sharp objects hit his face and turned to see Trickster had thrown a shrapnel card in his face while he was distracted. Red charged, ripped a simple bench off the ground and hurled it at Trickster. The wolf was slammed into the lockers and before the bench could fall away Red pounced forward and slammed his feet into it. Trickster was squashed between the bench and the lockers and passed out. Red didn't stick around and instead raced back out to confront the sword wielding robot.

While everyone else was being as loud as possible, Judy was doing her best to be forgotten. The veteran cop was under no illusion about her usefulness to the group in this fight, and that feeling of helplessness was something she'd grown increasingly frustrated with as her children took up the mantle of city defenders. Not being able to help was just not a feeling Judy was okay with, especially in such dire circumstances.

Her attention was drawn to a loud crunch, the back up Nightspinner mech that Mage had hacked crashed into the ground from high up on the wall. A fall from that height could kill Mage, Sirius or this world's Olivia at any moment, and they weren't the only ones. The sword robot had narrowly missed Fuli, Maiden and Slash were at a deadlocke, and Scarlet's fight with Crimson was bloodying the ground around them as both mammals fought like savages. This was all a misunderstanding and if it didn't stop soon then someone was going to die. Judy lamented that there was no one left to reason with before an idea struck her, it was a longshot, but it was better than doing nothing. With newfound determination Judy slipped out of her hiding place.

Crimson felt his ribs break again as the angry red ninja kicked him in the chest full force. He had no idea how long they'd been fighting but every couple of seconds brought some new pain to push through. Neither bothered with words, both could tell that the other wanted to beat them into a bloodstain on the floor. But despite the utter carnage of the fight, with blood all over the floor despite both of them having rapid healing, Crimson could tell that he was losing ground. His opponent hit faster and recovered fastered. Even with the thought of Hannah on life support fresh in his mind, fueling his wrath, Crimson found he just couldn't compete consistently with the ninja. She fought like she was possessed by a demon, and yet there was still some skills behind her flurry of punches and kicks, enough that she was tiring her opponent out faster then he was her.

There was a brief pause in the fight as Crimson got back to his feet, he saw that his opponent was looking past him and towards the door of the medical bay. There was no way she was getting near Hannah ever again. Crimson charged his opponent once more, but she neatly side stepped him and jabbed him in the side with her elbow. As he stumbled from the hit, Crimson felt her hand wrap around his ankle and before he knew it he was lifted off the ground and slammed back into it. This went on a couple of times before he was tossed as high in the air as the ninja could get him. Right at the point where he stopped raising his eyes locked with the flying wolf with the shield. The wolf quickly turned and hurled a card at him, but as it approached him the card turned in the air and a demonic hand reached out. It was a scream of terror, not anger, that the Crimson Banshee let out as he was pulled into the card.

Fuli saw the end of one fight unfold with wide eyes, she knew Kodi had magic but card sealing prisons were something very different. Mage didn't have time to call his card back as even that momentary distraction had almost allowed the base's defenses to get the jump on Sirius. Thankfully the she wolf dodged and resumed her chase with Nightspinner. Scarlet was standing below the falling card, taking some time to absorb that her fight had prematurely ended. Fuli marched forward and caught the card before it could fall into Scarlet's waiting hand. Scarlet shot and angry look at Fuli for the sudden interference, but Fuli held her ground.

"What are you doing Robyn!? Your son's being held here and you decide to just try and beat your way back to him!" Some of the fire went out of Scarlet's eyes, but she still looked murderous. "You could've ended this fight as quickly as Ronan did but you went out of your way to be less effective because you wanted to hurt someone who doesn't know any better! Look at this mess!" Fuli waved her arm at the blood stained floor. Scarlet looked around and seemed somewhat creeped out by just how much of a mess she'd made. "We don't have time for you to work out your anger! Now get your head in the game and go help Ronan!" Fuli pointed to her boyfriend and Scarlet saw he was struggling with the sword robot.

Scarlet took a deep breath before turning back to Fuli with calmer but still fiery eyes, "I think Aaron might be behind those doors," she indicated the medical bay, "see if you can get in."

I'll try," Fuli knew it was pointless but she'd try anyway, "now get going!"

"Right," Scarlet muttered as raced off.

Above and away from the many fights going on below, Hightower sat at the computer station watching the whole mess unfold. Three of the team were down and the two remaining ones were nowhere near defeating their opponents. Hella and the training robot were holding the line but…

"Hightower behind you!" Hella suddenly called out. The leader of Team Highshadow only had a moment to turn and realize that in all the confusion the attacker's bunny had slipped up to the control platform. The next moment the bunny reached the station and flipped the old vixen right out of her chair, she was face down and pinned.

"Call your team off," the bunny demanded,"we don't want any of this."

"Very poor case you've made for yourself," Hightower rasped, "all of us will fight until we drop!"

"Someone is going to get killed at the rate things are going," the bunny pleaded, "look there has to be a way...wait a minute, Bella run facial recognition on me." Both AI and vixen were stunned at the bunny directly addressing the computer, albeit with a slightly off name. "You should recognize me."

Hightower wanted to snort at the ridiculousness of it all, but somewhere in the back of her mind the voice did sound familiar, "Hella, do what she asked."

"Hella, really?" the bunny asked.

"Facial recognition complete," Hella reported, "subject identified as Judy Wilde."

"What!?" Hightower demanded, "That's impossible! Why would she be here? With a bunch of fakers?"

"I have confirmed that Judy Wilde is presently in her office at precinct one, but she is also standing right here," Hella sounded about as confused as an AI could.

"That's because my friends and I are from another dimension," Judy stated plainly, "the male flying wolf is Kodi Jones, you can check, I know it sounds crazy but these mammals aren't some fakers or whatever you call us, they're the equivalent of your team from another world." Neither Hella or Hightower said a word. "Look," Judy pleaded, "both Scarlet and Red have the same powers as Crimson, but both of them held back against Kodi, Sirius isn't using her full energy blasts against Olivia. That's because we don't want to hurt anyone, we just want to go home."

"And what about Bullet and Crimson!?" Hightower shouted back, "she wasn't very merciful with them!"

"The koala you kidnapped is Scarlet's son, she's a mother trying to protect her kid," that gave Hightower pause, "and right now she's terrified for his life, her son, my grandson, and he's lost in another dimension!"

"Your grandson?" Hightower asked.

"Scarlet's real name is Robyn, in our world she was the only survivor of my litter, not Reginald," Judy explained.

"Hightower, I can confirm the flying wolf shares a face with Kodi Jones," Hella reported.

Hightower suddenly felt the pressure on her back lighten. Judy stepped away from the downed vixen. "We can keep fighting, or we can call a ceasefire and talk this out before anything else we can't take back happens." Judy made the final plea in her case and went silent.

Hightower slowly rose to her feet, sore after her rough landing, and considered her options for a solid minute. Then she walked over to her computed and activated the speaker, "Team Highshadow...stand down, stop fighting, that's an order." Ignoring some of the audible shouts of confusion, Hightower stepped aside and pointed to the speaker. "Your turn."

Judy walked over and spoke her message, "Team Ceartais stand down, I've spoken with Hightower and we are going to talk this one out." Hightower was satisfied with the announcement but grew confused when Judy turned to face her. The bunny's face went from relieved to shocked in an instant.

Down below the two teams gathered on either side of the conference table. The base's defenses and the sword robot had deactivated, letting Scarlet, Red and the Mage breath easily. Sirius and Maiden had kept their eyes on their foes the whole way to the conference table, with the bunny and vixen in particular on edge after their very close duel. The Trickster weakly walked over to the others, obviously still sore from the sudden end to his fight with Red.

"Where is Crimson?" Slash asked suddenly.

"Oh right," Fuli said before handing the capture card to the Mage, "you dropped this." The mammals not in the known had no time to ask questions before a demonic hand emerged from the card and deposited the Crimson Banshee at his team's feet.

"Merde!"

"Hellfire!"

"I have a lot of questions for your team," Hightower said over the speakers.

"What is going on?" Crimson demanded.

"We've called a ceasefire, we're talking this one out," Hightower answered.

"What!" Crimson shouted, "You can't be serious!"

"Reginald, stand down, the situation isn't what we thought it was."

"Hightower! Code names!" Nightspinner spoke for the first time.

"Olivia Dawson, Reginald Wilde, Alice Kirabito, Kodi Jones and Hannah Savage, we know who you are," Red said, shocking the full team.

"And why are we letting these...strangers to the negotiating table?" Nightspinner asked.

"Because we aren't strangers," Judy called as she walked down the steps to join the others, "at least not complete ones."

"Mom!" Crimson shouted in complete confusion.

"Not exactly Reginald," Judy cleared her throat, "I am Chief Judy Wilde of precinct one, and these mammals are Team Ceartais, a team of heroes deputized by the city as it's defenders."

"As for introductions," Mage spoke up, and pulled his mask off, "I'm the Mage, but my real name is Kodi Jones." That caused another ripple reaction as everyone compared the two Kodi's, Trickster even pulling his own mask and hat off.

Mage continued, "this is Sirius, aka Clara Bloom, and this is…"

"Where is my son?" Scarlet interrupted.

"Give me literally two seconds," Hightower answered, "Med bay, on your left."

"Mom," Aaron cried as he ran out of the room.

"Aaron!" Robyn ran forward and tearfully embraced her son, "I'm so sorry Aaron," she choked her words out between tears. The two reunited right in the middle of the bloody floor left by Robyn's fight with Reginald, Robyn's tears were tears of relief, but also of guilt.

"I'm okay Mom," Aaron tried to reassure. Team Highshadow were caught off guard by the tearful reunion, more than one of them getting a bad feeling about the upcoming talk. Their attention was diverted when Hannah rolled out of the med bay in a wheelchair.

"Hannah don't get near her!" Crimson shouted in panic as he made his way over.

"It's fine Reginald," Hannah said as she rolled by the reunited mother and son, "Robyn won't hurt me."

"Robyn?" Reginald asked in alarm as he reached his friend.

"Yes, if what the kid said is true, then her name is Robyn Wilde," Aaron followed up on Hannah's statement by using his powers to pull down Robyn's hood and and scarf, revealing her hybrid nature.

"The eight of us are from another dimension," Red spoke up, "though Fuli and I are ourselves from a different dimension than the rest. My name is Sergeant Red, but you can call me Ronan Wilde," he said as he also pulled off his headgear.

"No freakin way," Trickster mouthed as he and the others tried to process the new info.

"I'm afraid we've misread the situation," Hightower said in person as she finally descended the staircase herself.

"You sent a former child slave to kidnap a kid away from his mother," Fuli said plainly.

"Oni, desole," Alice muttered.

"It'll be alright," Ronan tried to keep things calm, "you had no way of knowing, right Lu...are you okay?"

Maiden was trembling in place, literally shaking, "You, y, you," she was looking at Hightower.

Hightower was a vixen who looked to be at least 50 years old, she was smartly dressed in a business suit and although a good amount of it was greying out, it was clear that black was her native fur color. The most distinct feature though, were a pair of unmistakable amber eyes. 'You alright there kid? If you need an introduction, my name is Victoria Todd." Maiden audibly gasped.

"Oh my goodness," Robyn and most of the others gasped.

"Sweetie," Judy called to her eldest, "you still have your mask on."

"Sweetie?" Nightspinner asked, but when she took a closer look at the archer an impossible idea started forming in her mind, "No, it can't, Alice get me a better view!" Olivia kicked open her cockpit and beckoned the bunny over.

"What's all the commotion about?" Reginald asked, utterly clueless.

Victoria watched as Maiden pulled down her hood and deactivated her mask, revealing her face and amber eyes, it took the old vixen only a few more moments to realize the truth, "Luna." The vixen gave a shaky nod of confirmation.

Reginald, still in a confrontational mood, pushed aside the sudden appearance of his sister and asked, "What's the big deal, it can't have been that long since she's seen her mommy."

"Try over twenty years," Robyn snarled, "and the last time she saw her was when she died!" Team Highshadow let out a collective gasp and by the time they turned back to their leader the old vixen had pulled Luna into a fierce embrace.

"Luna, there's a million things that make this more complicated than we want it to be, and right now we don't care about any of them, right now, just let your heart do what it wants," Victoria said between sobs of her own. Luna returned the hug with equal force and buried her face in her other mother's shoulder.

"But this," Reginald weakly tried to protest.

"MAGE!" Victoria shouted, "If my nephew opens his goddamn trap one more time before the meeting starts, put him back in the card."

No one spoke a word after that, and the silence of the Dungeon was only broken by the tearful sobs of two vixens pretending they were holding a mammal they had lost.

AN: Banner day for Mom's here in Dimensions and Time, the original hero of Zootopia and the Take a Stand series gets to save the day once again, and another mother is alive in this world. Did you see it coming? Were you facepalming wondering how you didn't see it coming? I'd like to know.

Next time on Dimensions and Time: The sad history of Highshadow is revealed, Reginald is on a warpath and Robyn hits rock bottom.


	13. Chapter 12: The Muliverse Can be Cruel

Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter of Dimensions and Time, got a lot of positive feedback from the last chapter, so let's try and keep the momentum going. Thank you so much to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed this story. Now here we go!

**Chapter 12: The Multiverse Can Be Cruel**

Luna and Victoria sat at the head of the Dungeon's conference table, with their respective teams lining either side. Olivia, Alice, Trickster, Hannah in her wheelchair and Reginald were on the left, while Judy, Mage, Clara, Robyn with Aaron in her arms, Ronan and Fuli were on the right. Judy, Mage, Robyn and Clara had done the most explaining: about who they were and how they got here. They skimmed over a lot of details but got the gist of it across. Team Highshadow were transfixed by the whole explanation, it felt like something out of science fiction and yet the proof was sitting on the other side of the table. Hella removed any doubt when she reported the results of a DNA test: the two Kodi's were a perfect match.

Each member of the native team had something they took particular interest in. Trickster was, predictably, most interested in the Mage having real magic at his disposal. Hannah was listening for any details about the Wilde family. Alice kept a guilty look on Aaron the whole time. Olivia was most interested in the mechanics of dimension travel. Victoria was paying special notice to how Ceartais was founded and the implications it raised. Reginald took note of anything he could glean about the visitors' combat capabilities, still hoping he'd get to fight them.

"We took shelter in an abandoned building in the Rainforest District, and you know the rest," Judy finished the recap of the group's latest adventure, "I know we got off on the wrong foot, but we really are just trying to get back home."

"Yeah well your trying to get home put one of my team on life support!" Reginald snarled.

Hannah was quick to jab Reginald in the arm, "I had that coming and you know it." Reginald looked frustrated that his friend wasn't defending herself.

"Those were simply the actions of a mother protecting her child," Alice added. "You know Oni is as calm and collected a warrior as they come, and yet she flew into a blind wrath when she thought one of White Crow's apprentices had fatally wounded me."

"Wait," Luna spoke up, having noticed a detail in Alice's last sentence. "You said _Oni is_, is...is she alive here too?" Her question drew the interest of her team but got a horrified gasp from Alice.

"Oni's dead in your world?" Alice asked to be sure, and received nods of affirmation from several mammals, "I can't imagine what that would've done to me."

"Become one of the world's deadliest assassins," Mage answered, "like, top five easy."

"Develop a code of honor you rigidly stick too," Judy added.

"Fall into darkness and believe the life will kill you but it's all you have," Luna solemnly recounted her wife's old mindset.

"Pull out of all that and earn a normalish life and marrying my sister," Robyn's actually happy note was undercut by a bitter tone that went unnoticed by the local mammals. They were too busy being shocked. And so the visitors were subjected to a second round of "Luna married the assassin", complete with questions running over each other and constant looking back and forth between the mammals in question. It only stopped when a high pitched squeal came from the head of the table; Luna had just shown Victoria her wedding picture. The local mammals and Judy of course knew that Victoria wasn't the hardass she presented herself as at work or as Hightower, but the level of giddiness on display was still jarring.

Victoria noticed the odd look and quickly composed herself, "Uhm, well yes, to answer you original question Luna, Oni is alive in our world. She's a wanted criminal and is still on the run but she checks in fairly often. That sword robot Ronan fought is modeled after her." She slid Luna's phone over to Alice, and the bunny marveled at the joyous expression but winced at the additional scars and mechanical arm.

"That actually explains why...umm," Luna paused mid sentence.

"Yes sweetie?" Victoria and Judy both asked. They shared an awkward look while Fuli got a good chuckle. Judy quickly smiled though and after a brief moment Victoria matched her.

"Well anyway," Luna continued with a smile, "it explains why this Alice is weaker than the other ones we've encountered...no offense," she nodded to the native Alice.

"What do you mean?" Mage asked.

"I was able to fight this Alice on even footing and Fuli, a civilian, got a hit in. It's probably because she didn't have to survive on her own all those years."

"That does make sense," Alice agreed, taking no offense at the objective appraisal.

"Hard to imagine Alice being any scarier," Trickster shuddered.

"Yeah," Mage muttered, "she's something else." Having the fact that this Alice was weaker than the others and still wiped the floor with him was just more salt in the wound.

"Well, since the conversation is about me anyway, there is something I need to say," Alice turned to Robyn and Aaron, "I am so sorry you two, I would never…"

Alice stopped talking when Robyn held up a hand, "It's fine Alice, I'm not happy, but I do understand, especially with your history. I just wish your information was gathered better."

"Oni would say the same thing," Alice sighed, "she is going to be so disappointed in me."

"I'm sure she'll understand given the circumstances," Judy reassured, "What I'm less understanding of is Hannah's motive for throwing my grandson onto the ground back at the junkyard."

"Yes, we were just getting to that before your group barged in," Victoria remembered as all eyes turned to Hannah, "So Hannah, finally time to explain yourself."

Aaron spoke up first, albeit in a timid voice, "I used my powers on her." Everyone else just looked confused but Robyn's eyes widened in realization.

"The kid has powers?" Victoria asked Luna and Judy.

"I thought he made stuff float and reads minds," Fuli said aloud, "how does that lead to being hurled into the ground?" The cheetah still had a hard glare locked on Hannah.

"I'm sorry, what!?" Olivia called.

"Aaron can let people see through his eyes," Robyn explained in a loud voice, silencing the crowd. Even those in the know about Aaron had forgotten about his most situational ability.

Hannah was the first to speak up, "So what I saw...I saw, that's, I was seeing through Aaron's eyes?"

"You could see!?" Reginald gasped.

"Yeah that would freak a blind mammal out," Trickster realized as the pieces fell into place.

"I could," Hannah replied, "but it was so janky and unfocused and...that's because I was just trying to get the kid away from...from his mother," Hannah buried her face in her hands, nothing but shame on her mind. "Aaron, Robyn I am so sorry." Her apology was muffled by her own hands.

Aaron observed the scene before him, not quite sure what to make of it. He meant it when he said that this Hannah wasn't his mother. Despite looking superficially similar the two were very different mammals. The emotions coming off of her though, were very familiar to the bright little kid; sadness and regret. He'd seen his mother be sad a couple of times, mostly after the mission they took in the other dimension. Seeing this world's Hannah so broken spurred a nervous sympathy in Aaron's heart, so he asked a simple question, "Mom, can you bring over to her?"

"What" Robyn exclaimed, "Why?"

"Like in the playground, when we first met," Aaron explained.

Robyn's expression went from confused to worried to proud in a few seconds, "Okay little hero." She stood up from her chair and started walking around the table.

"Whoa, hold up," Reginald said as Robyn approached Hannah from his side, "you're not getting near her!"

"Reginald sit down," Hannah moaned.

"She nearly killed you!" Reginald shouted back.

"Under extremely specific circumstances that are all but impossible to repeat," Victoria countered, "now sit down Wilde!" Reginald reluctantly retook his seat as Robyn walked past him.

"Uh, hi," Hannah nervously waved at Aaron.

"Give him your hands," Robyn said softly. Hannah complied and gasped upon seeing her own face, clearly aged since she'd lost her vision.

"I can't, is that really me?" Hannah asked quietly, Aaron nodded and created more sudden jankiness for Hannah. Aaron looked past the still seated hybrid to the mammals sitting further up the table and Hannah gasped, "Kodi, oh my you've let yourself go."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Trickster bristled.

"You used to be handsome back in highschool and now you're all scruffy looking," Hannah teased.

"Well then I'll just get out of your...his sight," Trickster stood up and walked over to Reginald, who still looked uneasy. With no wolf in between them Aaron had a clear view of the smaller Alice.

Hannah took a few moments to process what she was seeing, "Alice?"

"Of course," the white bunny smiled, "we met after you lost your sight." Robyn realized this was also true for her wife and made a mental note to ask her if she wanted this.

"Well yes, I've had it described for me but, um, I have to say Alice...you're very pretty."

Alice blushed in return, "Well thank you Hannah, I can say the same for you."

"I need to let go now," Aaron called, Hannah didn't waste a second and pulled her hands away, her world went back to being dark.

"Thank you Aaron, that was wonderful," Hannah wiped a tear from her eyes, "I know I've made a pretty terrible first impression, but I hope this doesn't paint the me from your world in a bad light." The visiting party got a good chuckle out of that.

"And what's so funny now?" Victoria asked. Luna showed her another picture and got the expected response, "No way."

"You're looking at one Robyn Wilde-Savage," Luna announced.

"Wilde...Savage?" Reginald muttered, suddenly looking weak at the knees.

"No way," Olivia said.

"Robyn married Jack!" Victoria shouted.

"WHAT!?" The local mammals all shouted, many of them turning to Victoria only to see her laughing at their reactions.

"MOM!" Luna shouted in embarrassment. Judy and Fuli were laughing and Clara chuckled a bit.

"Damn it Miss Todd!" Olivia shouted between her own laughs once she figured it out.

"Wait, then who?" Hannah started to ask.

"You Hannah," Robyn answered plainly, "uh, we didn't just out you did we?"

"Nah we know, not that stripes has ever done anything with it!" a new voice barbed from higher up.

The mammals turned to see a vixen in her mid twenties descend the staircase towards the group, "Oh up yours Andi, I've had other things to focus on!"

"Andi!" Luna shouted as she and everyone else watched the vixen approach. Audible gasped escaped every visiting mammal as Andi came into view, her face looked like it had been ripped apart. One ear was torn off about a quarter of the way up from the base, and the other had a noticeable chunk ripped out. The left side of her jaw had a part of her lip missing, exposing her teeth. Finally scars were all over her skull, across her eyes, down her cheeks and below the ears. It was clear these were not recent injuries; these were old wounds that had been severe enough to last into adulthood. The vixen wore an expression of mild amusement as she reached the base of the stairs.

"Oh don't get your bowstring in a knot Pinkie, based on the intact nature of your face I'm guessing your Andi is a totally different beast then me," Andi directly addresses Luna.

Luna was stunned silent but Judy was looking back and forth between Andi and Victoria in utter confusion, "How is this, why?"

Victoria sighed, "The scars are because of Bellwether."

"Yeah the psycho sheep trapped our you and little Lu in a tube and hit the bunny with the old nighthowler, you can see how that went," Andi sarcastically pointed at herself.

"But the same thing happened to me!" Luna said, "Mom went savage but didn't attack me."

"Why not!?" Andi demanded.

Judy gasped, "Because I marked her earlier in the day. We took a trip to Bunnyburrow and I didn't want her getting lost in the crowd."

"That didn't happen here," Victoria explained.

"That's because we brought Luna to Bunnyburrow to cheer her up after...you died," Judy put the final puzzle piece in place.

A deep silence filled the Dungeon after Judy's realization. This was a proverbial knife twist for Victoria especially and nobody knew what to say.

"But, if Miss Todd was still alive, shouldn't the circumstances have been different?" Ronan asked.

"Different paths, same psychotic sheep," Olivia spitefully replied, "I'm guessing Luna's kidnapping didn't involve a school shooting in your world?"

"A home invasion," Judy answered.

Robyn took the chance to take a seat again, this time in the chair next to Reginald who shot her an angry glare before turning away.

_Get the feeling I know where Regi's issues started_, Robyn though, _time for some answers_. "What happened to our family after that," Robyn indicated Andi.

Victoria was silent but Andi spoke up, "Well the M.M. Gang miserably failed their end of the deal so the MCB went after them. Marian turned herself in but Robin and John went right back on the run, the cowards."

"Nick would hate that," Judy started.

"He was the one who snapped at them for, well everything basically," Andi shrugged, "he chased them out of the hospital and that was the last time he saw them before they died."

"Here too?" Luna asked, clearly saddened that John had met an untimely end in all the world's she'd been in.

"It's because of Oni and I," Alice lamented. "We been outrunning the assassins from our old clan for years after we killed White Crow, but a large group of them caught us when we hid in Zootopia after the wave."

"Highshadow stepped in but the old farts died in the fight," Trickster recounted.

"They started Highshadow as a means of penitence," Victoria finally found her voice again, "the others joined after the wave."

"But what about Mom and Dad? Or your Luna?" Luna pressed, still eying Andi in unease.

"It was my fault," Victoria said, head hung low, "I was never keen on sharing my daughter to begin with and after seeing her... I just started blaming everyone. I thought I was protecting my daughter by keeping her away from them...but…"

"You just screwed everyone over in the long run," Reginald spoke up, drawing some annoyed glances from his team. "Look, here's the clip notes, Mom was a guilt ridden mess for years and has never been an active duty officer since that day, she spent years on dispatch and when she finally got back out there it was as a detective."

_I hate to say it but that sounds right_, Judy thought as she absorbed Reginald's recounting, recalling how she'd quit the force altogether after Bellwether's press conference.

"Every time she'd say to make the world a better place she sounded like she was trying to convince herself," Reginald added bitterly. "Anyway dad stayed a cop, joined the SWAT group and had a lot of temper issues for awhile."

_Not hard to figure out how you wound up this way bro_, "And Luna?" Robyn asked.

"I barely know that shrieking wreck," Reginald snorted.

"You want me to lay you flat again Regi?" Andi challenged.

"Tell me I'm wrong little miss cry for help!"

"ENOUGH!" Victoria shouted, "Andi, lay off Reginald, this has been a very long day, Reginald, don't who dare use that as an excuse to make light of your sister's mental issues!"

Reginald deflated somewhat, "Fine, sorry, point is that I never met Luna until after she'd already...lost herself, she was barely able to stay out for a minute before Andi came back out."

Fuli spoke up, "DID usually works on the basis of a severe need in the base personality, one they can't meet for whatever reason, I'm guessing that aside from some anger issues your Luna needs Andi for interacting with strangers?"

"Good guess spots," Andi praised, "but you're downplaying it, my Luna needs me to talk with anyone who isn't Olivia."

"But that would mean you're out almost all the time," Luna exclaimed, turning to Victoria she asked, "aren't you worried Luna's going to disappear into her forever!"

"Hell no!" Andi shouted, surprising several of the guests, "No way am I letting my Luna stay locked away, any time I'm not needed I go away, mornings, meals, long car rides, anything. I don't know how badly I turn out in your world, but I am not giving up on her!"

Luna was flabbergasted by the devotion the Andi displayed. _She said she would never wish our life on anyone else_, Luna thought back to when she'd raced back to Zootopia to stop Olivia from making a huge mistake. "My Andi, she wasn't all bad." Luna admitted.

"Closure," Ronan spoke up, drawing everyone's attention, "none of you got any closure."

"No, we didn't," Victoria agreed.

_And neither has Robyn_, Mage thought of their own situation back home.

"Am I missing something?" Trickster asked.

"Closure is the key to moving on," Fuli explained, "be it by revenge, forgiveness, or justice if your lucky," Fuli smiled at Ronan during the last bit, a look that was returned.

"And we got exactly bullshit in that regard," Andi snorted, "at least for awhile."

"For a while," Judy muttered, "I'm guessing you leading Team Highshadow has something to do with that."

Victoria nodded, "It took me a long time to realize how badly I'd messed up, it was when Luna started to struggle with talking to me that...I've tried to make amends but…"

"It's mattered, every bit does," Andi assured her mother in a soft but firm voice. Andi turned to address the group, "The misery trains gone on long enough, here's the rest of it, ahem, Mom started supplying Highshadow years before the wave, payed Marian's bail, and tried reaching out to Nick and Judy. Judy and Marian hang out all the time now but none of them have seen Luna yet. MM recruited the young three when they started doing vigilante stuff after the wave, Alice joined after that, and Olivia was the latest to join after she figured us out on her own. None of our families know that their children are wanted criminals."

"This is the lousiest world we've been to," Robyn concluded, "uh, no offense Miss Todd."

The old vixen chuckled, "I'd be worried if that wasn't your conclusion Robyn, and please call me Victoria."

"Sure thing Victoria."

"Now then, we have a good idea of who all of us are, now what do you plan to do?" Victoria asked the visiting mammals.

"What time is it?" Clara asked.

The gathered mammals all gave the wolf puzzled looks at the seemingly off topic question before Hella answered, "It is 4:25 p.m. PST."

"Then that's over the twelve hours Robbie said to give her!" Clara was grinning. The others were reminded of Robyn's genius plan and suddenly had grins of their own.

"Okay I'll bite, who's Robbie?" Olivia asked. One quick explanation later had the mouse grinning as well, "You outsourced information from another dimension? That's genius!"

Victoria was also grinning, "I agree, what do you need Robyn?"

"Just a fairly big mirror and some privacy, don't wanna overcrowd the place."

"You think we're gonna let you roam around the Dungeon unsupervised?" Reginald asked.

"Oh can it Regi," Olivia snipped, "but I have to admit I'm curious about this mirror power."

"Then how about you lead Robyn and Clara to the training room Olivia," Victoria proposed, "the mirrors there should suffice."

"Thanks Victoria," Robyn said as she started walking, "hop on." Olivia jumped into Robyn's waiting paw and directed Clara and Robyn, who was still carrying Aaron, away from the others and eventually out of the main room.

"While they do that, the rest of us can hang around here," Victoria said, "Hannah should get back to the medical bay just to be safe."

000

Everyone took Victoria's advice, the vixen herself walked back up to her monitor along with Judy to oversee repairs to the Dungeon. Trickster escorted Hannah to the medical bay while Reginald stayed at the table, scowling at the various visitors when they thought he wasn't looking. Alice and Andi were sitting on the staircase discussing Luna's married life, and Ronan and Fuli sat in the changing room. The couple were checking each other over for injuries and just taking the chance to catch their breaths.

"I know she's weaker than usual, but I'm still kind of pleased that I got a hit in on Alice," Fuli beamed as she checked for rips in Ronan's costume.

"Impressive or not that was a very risky move," Ronan chastised, "I nearly had a heart attack when I saw that sword robot going for you."

"I bailed after that one kick, I know I'm not much of a fighter but, I couldn't do nothing, not after Aaron got taken by Bullet when I was guarding him," Fuli admitted with guilt. Learning what had transpired while she was knocked out had stung, especially with the faith Aaron had put in her.

Ronan sighed, "Just, please be careful Fuli, this isn't the kind of thing you can throw yourself at."

"I promise Ronnie," gently rubbed the head of her much smaller boyfriend.

"That should not feel as nice as it does," Ronan coed. The two cuddled together for a few minutes before Fuli broke the silence.

"You think Robyn will get anything out of chat with herself?"

"I hope so, otherwise we're completely out of leads," Ronan lamented their situation. "I have to say I'm impressed with how well you're holding it together."

"This is all still a strict upgrade over the Crimson Mermaid," Fuli retorted.

"Okay fair…"

"You talking about me?" An aggressive voice interrupted. Ronan and Fuli turned to see a scowling Reginald walking over to them. "If you have something to say you can say it to my face."

"What gave you that idea?" Ronan asked.

"Crimson," Reginald said, "I heard the civilian there say it."

"My name is Fuli, and I said the Crimson _Mermaid_, it was the shitty casino boat I was working on when the Wave hit. My friends and I were stranded at sea for over half a week before our Olivia saved us," Fuli explained in an irate voice.

"Oh," Reginald said, looking momentarily embarrassed before his severe expression returned.

Ronan tried to extend a hand, "Look Reginald, I know we got off on a bad start but that doesn't mean…"

"I'm gonna stop you there." Reginald barked, "you aren't my brother, Pinkie isn't my sister, the bunny cop isn't my mother and the psycho ninja definitely isn't my sister! My litter mates are a bunch of stillborn babies buried in the Sherwood cemetery!"

"Okay I wasn't going to say that, I was just saying there's no reason we can't get along," Ronan held up his hands in a haunting gesture.

"Tell that to the bitch you almost killed my friend!" Reginald fired back.

"You know damn well why that happened," Fuli countered, "and everyone else on your team seems to have realized it was a huge misunderstanding."

"Everyone else is too quick to forgive," Reginald snapped, "You and the psycho ninja may be able to heal, but I can seriously mess up the rest of you and I'm keeping both eyes on…"

"ME!" Ronan interrupted Reginald's threat, "listen up Reginald, if you ever threaten my girlfriend or any of my friends again I will put you down even faster than I did the last time, now take your self righteous tantrum somewhere else."

Reginald did back up a bit but looked ready to respond when Victoria's voice came over the speakers, "Reginald Mason Wilde! I have had enough of you trying to start a fight with our guests, if I hear you doing so one more time I will get Mage to put you back in the card until they leave! Am I clear!?" As Victoria finished her threat Reginald noticed a shadow looming overhead, he looked up to see the Mage with a card in hand. "Am I clear!?" Victoria repeated.

Reginald looked afraid, furious and sad all at once, "Crystal," he finally said aloud before turning and jumping away to the nearest doorway he could find. Images flashed through his head; losing consciousness after fruitlessly fighting Sergeant Red, the ceiling approaching as he was tossed in the air by Scarlet, but Hannah near death on an operating table kept coming back to him. Just a bit more and she'd have died.

_How can they just let those mammals walk around in the Dungeon!_

000

The Mage landed back at the conference table and took a sigh of relief. He'd been helping Hella with clean up duties until Victoria informed him that the rest was mechanical work for later. The work had at least kept his mind busy while they waited for Robyn and the others to come back, but now…

"Kodi," Mage turned and saw that Luna had come over to join him, "Andi noticed you were looking over at us a lot while you were flying about, do you want to talk?"

_Okay, guess I wasn't subtle_, "Why did you vote for me to be leader?"

"I...told you, back on the Kestrel remember?"

"No, that was for me taking your position, why vote for me to lead the whole team?"

"Because I felt the same thoughts applied there, and because with Olivia gone you were the best choice."

"No Luna, _you_ were the best choice," Kodi pressed, "we just didn't pick you after your stunt with Andi."

"Well...yes, but would you or any of the others have trusted me?"

"Probably not," Mage admitted, "but do you trust me?"

"What? Well I…" Luna hesitated.

"That's my point, the trust barriers in pieces thanks to the four of us, and everyone else is either non qualified or a newbie, so why should trust disqualify you?"

"Look Kodi, it's not that I don't trust you," Luna put some steel into her voice, "but I am disappointed in you, not for anything during this nightmare of a trip, but because you didn't make good on your promise to work things out after Christmas, you just let things with Robyn stagnate for a month!"

"I know, and when I finally went to make amends I blew it cause I was too, too...something to admit that Alice was in danger," Kodi confessed.

Luna's eyes widened, _damn it Kodi_, she was able to keep her cool despite her growing frustration with her friend, "Wait, you said you _were_ too something, but you aren't anymore?"

"No, getting my ass handed to me by weaker Alice made sure of that."

"So you lost to Alice, half the team has done that, the two situations have nothing in common," Luna said in exasperation. She was glad Kodi wasn't trying to insist her wife had been safe, but this wasn't a healthy way to reach that conclusion.

"Probably true, but if an Alice like this one beat me so easily how can I say that I could keep our Alice safe from Ronin? And now it doesn't even matter because I blew it and my best friend is never going to want to talk to me again and…"

"Kodi stop it," Luna grabbed his shoulders and gave him a good shake, "Don't go making any assumptions." Luna was about to continue when Robyn, Aaron, Clara and Olivia entered the room. "Damn it, look, the leadership role is something we should discuss with the whole team so put a pin in it for now okay?" Kodi nodded but still looked visibly upset and hung back as the two groups reconverged.

Robyn looked very tired but didn't waste any time, "Clara can explain all the techno babble if you want to hear it, the important thing is that the static, the thing that's blocking my powers, isn't a natural thing, it's mammal made."

Everyone, even Reginald, looked very disturbed by the implications. Judy was the first to speak up, "But that means that someone is doing this deliberately!"

"Yup, and since it blocked off Ronan's world we know it's deliberately being done to us," Robyn sighed, "and before you ask, they've already confirmed it isn't anyone from their earth."

"Well then, what do we do?" Ronan asked.

"They're gonna try to pinpoint where it's coming from, but the multiverse is huge so who knows how long it could take," Clara answered in a dejected voice.

"Well, our home is your home for however long it takes," Victoria said in a sympathetic tone.

After that the group dispersed, with Victoria and Andi going to arrange living space for their guests. Luna was only interested in one mammal though; Robyn had handed Aaron over to Judy and left to sit on a bench in the changing room by herself. Robyn looked pretty miserable and Luna wasn't going to let that be.

"Robyn, tell me what's wrong," Luna said softly.

"I think I need to leave the team," Robyn replied.

"What!" Luna gasped.

"Luna, I put the team at risk, I could've beaten Reginald as easily as Ronan but I was so mad I just went to beat him up, if Ronan hadn't gotten in the way I might have killed Kodi!" Robyn shook her head side to side. "All this drama with the team is getting to me and...I just don't know why I'm still doing this."

"Robyn, please don't make a hasty decision, that's what got Kion in all his trouble remember?" Luna felt a bit bad throwing Kion under the bus, but this was more important. "You were the one who started the new Ceartais."

"And right now I can't remember what that felt like," Robyn sighed "but your right, I'll give it a few weeks after we get back to see if anything improves." Robyn stood up and started to walk off. "I'm gonna go talk with this world's Hannah, probably owe her some kind of apology for almost killing her."

Luna though about what she'd been told, Kodi wanted to step down as leader, Robyn wanted to quit altogether, and all she'd managed to do was get both to give it some time. _They need someone who really understands, someone who can get Kodi to see past his failures, get Robyn to learn how to trust again...wait a minute_. The solution came to Luna like a bolt from the blue, which in many ways the mammal in question was. Maybe coming to this dimension had it's positives after all. Luna marched out of the changing room and towards the main computer terminal.

"Mom, I need your help," Victoria looked at the determined look on her otherworldly daughter and wondered what she was about to be asked.

AN: You know what they say about hitting rock bottom, there's nowhere to go but up. Robyn and Kodi have reached their lowest moment, but the team's resident expert on that subject matter is calling in reinforcements.

Next Time on Dimensions and Time: Reginald lands himself in a dangerous situation, Victoria has a plan, and Luna finds she's not the only mammal asking for help.


	14. Chapter 13: On the Strings of a Violin

Hello everyone, and welcome to the next chapter of Dimensions and Time. As always I want to thank everyone who read, favorited, reviewed and followed my story. This was one of the harder chapters to write and I hope you enjoy the results. Without further ado, here we go.

**Chapter 13: On the Strings of a Violin**

"Do you think you can help them?" Luna asked as she finally finished her recap. She'd walked her mother through an abridged history of Team Ceartais, the recent mission with Doom, and went into heavy detail about the actions that had nearly ripped the team apart. Some parts were hard to talk about and she could see the disappointment in Victoria's face at certain points.

The old vixen pondered what she'd been told for a few minutes before answering, "This is a real pickle your team has gotten itself into Luna."

"Well, where do you stand on this?"

"Distant third party perspective here, but here's my take; I'm with the mammals who agree that using a pregnant mammal as bait is morally reprehensible all on it's own. I trust I don't need to explain why I feel that way. That having been said, sometimes morally sound options don't get the best results, but you need to have a good justification for going the amoral route and that's where your wife's group louses any argument," Victoria explained in a calm voice.

"They don't have any defense in your eyes?"

"Off the top of my head I can name one solution that solves all of the problems; use you as the bait instead of Alice."

Luna was stunned that Victoria of all mammals suggesting such an option, but the logic of it sunk in soon after, "Why didn't we think of that?"

"Your wife's team isn't looking to dig their own graves any deeper, and without the mission providing the state of mind for it, not of your friends or family could conceive of such a risky move," Victoria summarized.

"And you can?"

"I'm a business mammal and a Todd, unraveling this family's corrupt history meant being the bad guy sometimes, and it's not like I'm unfamiliar with the hurting my daughter," Victoria looked ashamed of her own admission. "So in summation, your wife's team, one, didn't need to go for the treacherous route. Two, the notion of being safe when Alice is looking to kill you is laughable. Three, their actions should have been followed up with polite explanations and being very understanding that their actions were upsetting at best, instead they made the choice to act like self righteous pricks and treat Robyn, Olivia and the authorities like crap. I'll be honest Luna, I don't know if your team's going to make it through all of this."

"Oh," was all Luna could say as Victoria suggested her worst fears.

"That having been said, I definitely think I can help your Kodi," Victoria gave a reassuring grin. Luna recognized that grin from when she was young; it meant the gears were spinning in Victoria's head.

"And Robyn?" Luna asked, her concern for her sister overriding the joy of seeing her mother's planning face again.

Victoria looked down across the Dungeon, "She's a tougher nut to crack, she's innocent in all of this after all. Making things right with someone innocent is a lot harder."

"I know it's just...she's my sister and I can't stand seeing her so...beaten."

Victoria put a hand under Luna's chin and lifted her head up, "I said she was tougher to crack, not impossible, I've got the beginnings of a plan here but I'll talk with your Kodi first."

Luna nodded in understanding, _This was going to be an uphill battle anyway_.

"While I'm doing that, can I ask for a favor in return?" Victoria's normal confidence slipped a little.

Luna had no idea what to expect, but immediately responded, "Of course."

"Can you try and talk with my Luna?"

"Your...your actual daughter?"

"Yes, I know it's a long shot but…"

"You can't stand to see her so broken," Luna finished.

"I know it's not really comparable, but if you're outsourcing help from another world, why can't I?" Victoria reasoned.

"I don't know if she'll even talk to me, but I can try," Luna promised, "but I do have one question."

Victoria watched as her own thinking face was reflected on her daughter. _She doesn't even realize she's doing it_, Victoria chuckled to herself. "Yes sweetie?"

"Does your Luna still play her violin?"

000

_Being hunted or whatever across dimensions is messed up, but that's all the more reason they shouldn't be here._ Reginald angrily thought to himself as he made his way to the medical bay. He wanted to check in on Hannah and Kodi, it was around the time the former was going to try getting out of her wheelchair and he wanted to be there. The fiery hybrid was brought out of his internal musings by voices coming from the room up ahead.

"Wait, your Hannah didn't have trouble learning braille? Stripes took a few years to get it down." It was Kodi's voice. Reginald remembered the terrible days where Hannah had felt so humiliated going to her blind mammals school.

"Well she did struggle at first," the response brought Reginald to a stop, "then Nana realized she could just download the info into her steel blood."

"She did what!?" Hannah shouted.

"We are part machine," Reginald looked through the door and saw Hannah and Kodi accompanied by Robyn, Judy and Aaron. Hannah was already on her feet and using Robyn's staff as a walking stick if she needed it.

"Well excuse me if I don't want someone messing with the nanomachines in my head, that's creepy," Hannah looked genuinely grossed out, "maybe if you asked me while I was really struggling with it but...ugh not now."

Reginald slipped away and quickly made his way back to the main area. He let out a frustrated sigh as he leaned against the wall. He stayed still for a minute to calm down.

"Reginald?" He turned and saw that Hannah was standing in the doorframe, still using Robyn's staff to help her walk. Her look of concern turned to irritation when she sensed Reginald's posture, "Don't tell me you're out here because I was talking with your sister."

"She's not my sister!" Reginald bristled, "And she almost killed you! How can you just be so chatty with her?"

"Because I threw a literal child into the ground. Her son, Reginald, and then Alice kidnapped him. If she and her team are willing to bury the hatchet I say we're even," Hannah reasoned.

"Then I guess she's a lousy mother!" Hannah's hand was a blur as she slapped Reginald across the cheek. Reginald was dumbstruck by the anger coming from his old friend. "Maybe the rest of you are okay with letting this go, but I'm not." There was a pleading tone to his voice.

"Why? Oh right, because this is what you do when you can't punch your way out of a situation, because us not being the good guys bugs you," Hannah's biting criticisms tore through Reginald and the hybrid ran off, leaving his friend behind. Reginald went back to the changing room and hastily put on the Crimson Banshee costume. He marched over to one of the exits to go on a solo patrol, thinking no one had seen him leave.

One figure watched the tempestuous hybrid leave with a look of concern. They quickly ran back inside the Dungeon to get help.

000

A vixen sat alone in a dimly lit room, she was cradling her tail and had her arms and legs tucked in front of her. Even though she was facing away from the door she could tell the mammal looking in at her was not her mother or her best friend. It took everything she had to not retreat into her other self, but her curiosity was just enough to give her strength. One Luna Wilde looked at the other's back with no idea how the following talk would go.

"Hello Luna," Maiden spoke softly.

Luna visibly shuddered but responded, "H-hi," her voice was painfully small.

"Your mother asked me to speak with you," Maiden decided to be honest.

"Iknowmomtoldmeeverythingimsorryaboutyoursituation!" Luna panicky replied.

"Um, thank you Luna," Maiden replied. She noticed that the bench Luna was sitting on was fairly long, "Do you mind if I sit on the bench with you…"

"Gah!" Luna panicked before briefly going limp, when she straightened out it was clearly Andi in control. She turned and saw Maiden standing in the doorway.

"How far did she make it?" Andi asked.

"A few sentences, she bailed when I asked if I could sit on the bench."

"Better than I expected honestly, just come over and sit facing away from her," Andi gestured to the far end of the bench. Maiden did so, bringing the case she was carrying along with her. "Is that?" Maiden nodded in confirmation, "that might work, let's try."

Just as Maiden settled down Andi swapped back to Luna. The scarred vixen gasped and quickly looked around, she almost retreated again upon seeing Maiden but managed to hold it together.

_Okay, let's try a different angle_, Maiden thought. "You're lucky to have Andi," she stated.

After catching her breath Luna replied, "I know, she never gives up on me. I'm sorry about...leaving."

"Don't be," Maiden urged, "But I do have a question."

"...what?"

"What are you angry about?" Maiden asked.

"Angry, what...what does that have to do with anything?"

Maiden smiled, her surprise question had hooked her counterpart, "As far back as when I first met Mom, I mean Judy for you, I've had a bit of a temper. I hid it well, but it's there, and it manifested in Andi when she started to show up."

Luna looked down at her feet and thought about the question. "I-I'm mad at that awful ewe Bellwether for hurting Miss Judy. I'm mad at Mom for not letting me see anyone."

"But that's not the mammal you're most angry with is it?" Maiden pressed lightly.

"I'm, I'm angry a-at myself!" Luna finally spoke in what for her was a high volume, "I hate being so w-weak, I hate seeing Mom and Olivia's faces, or anyone's face! All they do is look cautious and concerned and it just reminds me that I'm hurting them because I'm so weak!" Luna finally paused to catch her breath and suddenly looked scared again. "I'm sorry, pleasedon'ttellthemisaidthatI…"

"Luna stop," Maiden pleaded. Luna looked horrified at her outburst but managed to steady herself. "Now I have another question, do you want to get better?"

A long pause followed before Luna answered, "...yes."

"Then we need to address the root of your issue," Maiden explained.

"My anger?" Luna asked, "well that's because I can't talk to mammals."

"No," Maiden calmly answered, having expected that mistake, "Your anger comes from your social inabilities, but your social inability comes from a much more basic emotion; fear."

"I, I guess? But what can you do?" Luna's curiosity peaked. Maiden didn't answer but Luna did hear the sound of locks coming undone. A few more moments of silence followed before music suddenly filled the room. Luna gasped at the familiar sound and finally turned in full to face Maiden. The magenta archer still had her back turned to her, but Luna could clearly see the violin she held in her paws. The tune was a very simple one, taught to young players as an entry level song, but in Maiden's paws it still sounded lovely. Maiden played the song to its conclusion, her counterpart transfixed the whole time. Then she sat the instrument back in its case and slid it across the bench to the other vixen.

"Now you."

000

Reginald wished he hadn't made his way to his parent's apartment, but he'd been desperate for company and the Dungeon wasn't providing anyone he wanted to talk with at the moment. But his parents didn't know he was The Crimson Banshee, and that's how he was currently dressed.

_Mom, there's something I need to talk to you about_.

_You sound serious sweetie, what is it?_

_I'm the Crimson Banshee._

No matter how many times Reginald felt like he was ready to tell his parents the truth, some horrible version of events played out in his mind. Shock, horror and outrage all played out in various ways. His parents had already dealt with enough unfair bullshit in their lives without knowing he was a brutal vigilante. It was that mindset that had led to him becoming increasingly distant from his parents after he graduated highschool. So all he did was watch as his mother and father moved about the living room after a long day at work. From his viewpoint looking in through a window he could see the cabinet where all the family photos were kept. There was a photo of him graduating highschool, the three of them on vacation as a graduation present, his parents wedding picture, family back in Bunnyburrow, Judy and Marian in more recent years at a flea market, and an old photo of Nick, Judy and Marian two decades ago with a six year old Luna; The sister he never got to know. He watched his parents come to a stop in front of the collection, something Reginald knew they did all the time. Like always they would pick up Luna's old photo and lament what had become of their almost daughter.

_Luna, I really wish you could get better...it would help everyone out a lot._

Then his parents did something unexpected; Luna's photo was passed over and Nick instead picked up the vacation photo while Judy picked up his graduation picture. The two leaned into each other, looking downcast and despondent.

_They're worried about me? Of course they're worried about you you dolt. They love you._

Reginald grabbed his phone and opened his contact list to his Mother's number, but his finger stopped just before he touched the screen. There was no way his current mood wouldn't come up, his parents were too smart for that. Speaking in vagueness wouldn't work for them. So Reginald angrily shoved his phone back into its case and jumped away without a look back.

000

While Clara was certainly not averse to showing off her body while dressed as Sirius, she did have some sense of modesty, so her stripping out of her hero outfit right in front of her boyfriend was at least a little eyebrow raising. She _had_ stated she was going to change into her civilian clothes but the usual unspoken part of saying that was that she was going to get a changing room. Kodi had simply waved his hand and his pajamas reappeared when Clara made her announcement, between that and his subdued reaction to her near nakedness Clara saw that a more insightful touch was needed.

"Sorry," Kodi quickly muttered before she even had a chance to talk, "your gorgeous Clara but I'm really not in a good mood right now." Clara said nothing, instead sitting next to her boyfriend and positioning his head on his shoulder. The magic wolf did nothing to stop this and the two silently enjoyed each other's company for a while.

Eventually Clara felt her boyfriend had calmed down enough for her to start prying, "Is this about Aaron getting kidnapped?"

"I failed," Kodi replied simply.

"So yes then?"

"Again and again, ever since I became the leader of the team all I've done is mess up," Kodi reflected on his unkept promise to make things better after the holidays, his talk with Robyn and, most recently, his loss to Slash and Aaron's kidnapping. _Don't mess up again_, Kiara's words rang in his ears, and he'd messed up again.

"That's wrong and you know it," Clara asserted with force, "patrols have been going no different then when Olivia was in charge, you did great in every battle except the one, and some of the group relationships _have improved_, you and Olivia are back on good terms right?"

"Yeah, but what about Robyn?" Kodi complained, "we actually had a talk back in the apartment, it felt like we were making progress at last and then I go and ruin it! She's never going to forgive me for this." Kodi really felt that his friendship with Robyn was over, no say nothing of what would happen when Hannah found out.

"Have you actually tried talking with her?"

"What's the point! The team is never going to come back from all of this, I was supposed to make it happen and it hasn't happened, it's over."

Kodi felt a hand touch his wrist, checking his pulse, "Hmm, amatuer doctor here but I don't think you'll be dying anytime soon, so it's not over." The wolf couple jumped a little at Victoria Todd's sudden appearance.

"What are you doing here Miss Todd?" Clara politely asked.

"Officially to give you these," she handed Clara a jar containing Clara's meds, much to the wolf's delight, "but I couldn't help but overhear."

"Sorry, just...our team is coming apart right now," Kodi lamented.

"It's over?" Victoria asked.

"I don't see how it isn't," Kodi hung his head low, and Clara hated to see her normally cheerful boyfriend so depressed.

"Well pup I've got a little reminder for you, until that heart of yours gives up and stops beating, it isn't over," Victoria spoke with the confidence only experience could provide.

"Nice sentiment Miss Todd, but I don't think you know…" Kodi tried to head off the conversation.

"It ain't no sentiment boy! It's a fact!" Victoria snapped and silenced the pouting wolf, "and thanks to a very concerned friend of yours I know all about your team drama."

"Luna," Clara immediately realized.

"So are you here to point out another way I screwed up? Gonna smack me around before giving...some admittedly good advice?"

"Jones I doubt there's an angle left uncommented on with your group's little stunt, and I am here to smack some sense into you," Victoria bluntly stated, "but if you insist," she lunged forward with surprising speed and started rubbing her hands up and down Kodi's cheeks.

"Gah, cut it out!" Kodi shouted while showing the vixen away. Clara chuckled at the whole thing, she recognized it for the mood booster it was.

"Alright Jones, you messed up, you failed, but you're still here and that means it isn't over, the journey doesn't end when you make mistakes," Victoria grew serious again.

"I, I let everyone's pain just stay there when I said we'd start making things better, I watched my best friend be miserable for almost a month before I did anything!" Kodi shouted with fresh guilt.

"Did you do that? Yes, yes you did, but what you haven't done is learn from it," Victoria pressed.

"Learn from...what is there to learn?" Kodi threw his hands up in exasperation.

"Jones there are a lot of ways to learn in this or any world, studies, mentors," she tilted her hand towards herself as she said that one, "but failure is the greatest teacher if you are willing to learn from it. But so far all you've done is focus on the mistakes themselves."

Kodi turned away, "Well that's all anyone wants to talk about."

"Because that's all there is to learn from this mess for them," Victoria countered, "none of them did anything wrong, there's nothing for them to learn except that the mammals they loved and trusted are perfectly capable of willingly betraying that trust, so of course that's all they'll focus on. It's on you, and Hannah, and Kion, and Alice and Luna to learn from and make up for this."

Kodi was silent for a few moments, he reflected on how the events of the trap, the meetings afterwards and the days following played out, he could see ways things could've been done better, words that should've been said sooner, some that still needed to be said. But he came back to the present with a sad sigh, "Even if I do all of that, what about Robyn? How can I face her after I let her son be taken? Kiara, Ronan's Kiara, said to try not to mess up again, but that's exactly what I did."

"And you don't think you owe it to your friend to try?" Victoria asked.

"I do but," Kodi started.

"But nothing," Victoria interrupted, "if you're too afraid of your mistakes to reflect and try again then things will never get better for anyone."

"I'm scared alright, scared of admitting that Alice was in danger, that what we did was a mistake," Kodi shut his eyes in an attempt to cut himself off.

"Why are you afraid? That fear will only hold you back," Victoria followed the lead she'd found.

"After I met Clara, when she asked me out, I made a big deal about improving myself." Kodi thought back to his time in Strange's pocket dimension, "When she was taken I was ready to do whatever I had to to save her and the other mammals. So I spent a year training to learn magic, just so I had a better chance of saving her." Kodi paused when he felt Clara gently wrap her arms around him from behind, providing some much needed comfort.

"He's a keeper Goldie," Victoria smiled.

"I know," Clara cooed.

"Anyway, literally one battle after I got these powers, Clara saved herself. Then Luna did her trap with Andi, and we did our trap for Ronin. I knew Robyn and Olivia would be mad, and I was ready to justify myself, but I wasn't ready for _everyone _to be against us. At best you had my parents or Jasari going easy on us, but overnight it was like everyone had turned on us. Like none of the good we did mattered, none of the improvement I did mattered," Kodi looked shame faced, and it was clear this was a confession to himself. "All that work I did trying to be better and I still messed up...I just wanted one thing, one part of what we did to be okay."

"And you latched onto Alice being safe because you were the one guarding her," Clara realized.

Kodi nodded, "I knew, I knew Alice was in some kind of danger no matter what we did. There's just no such thing as being safe when Ronin wants you dead. But I denied it so everything I did could matter, at least for something." The Wolf was clearly at the end of his rope, and he quietly started to cry.

Kodi felt a firm but soft hand touch his own, "Well Jones, from my perspective, you were able to hold off all of Hella's defenses by yourself, I'd say that counts for something."

"You had us use your portals during the attack on Phelps' base," Clara added, "think of how much harder it would've been without you."

"You were able to confront Robyn once, and however bad you think it went, you two were making progress within a few days," Victoria continued.

"And you fought Doom head on, probably made a lot of the rest of the fight possible," Clara recalled her boyfriend battling the metal plated tyrant back in her Zootopia, "now tell me the mammal who did all of that is the same one who I gave a generous 2/10 to when he tried to flirt with me." Victoria gave a bark of laughter at that remark.

"No," Kodi said after a moment.

"Then your efforts weren't wasted just because you made mistakes along the way," Victoria sagely spoke, "But you have to be brave enough to face them and try again." At Kodi's silence Victoria decided to share from experience, "It took me years to work up the courage to talk to Nick and Judy again after the way I treated them, but things did get better from there."

"Do you want things to get better Kodi?" Clara asked the rhetorical question.

"Of course I do," Kodi said in a quiet voice, "But is there really anything left I can do."

"Look at what's been done wrong Jones, and I'm certain you'll find something," Victoria stated.

"If you require an example of much of what Miss Todd has spoken of, may I suggest you follow her to one of the upper level rooms," Hella suddenly called out, startling the three mammals. Victoria recovered first and rushed out of the room without another word. The pair of curious wolves followed her out.

000

The Crimson Banshee hated hostage situations involving guns. He had no means of ranged attack and civilians often panicked and did stupid things when he used his unearthly wail, so it was normally his teammates who had to break the deadlock before he could move in. Of course he was alone right now and that was frustrating beyond belief. He'd stormed into a store undergoing a robbery intending to easily clobber the thieves, only for one of them to point a gun at the cashier. The female dingo looked absolutely terrified at his presence, even more so then the beleaguered ewe she was holding hostage. The other robbers were a male coyote who had his handgun aimed at the Banshee, and a billy goat further into the store.

"Alright you undead freak, I know I can't hurt you, but my friend can hurt the civilian so back off!" The coyote spoke with barely contained panic. Crimson said nothing, he never spoke to the criminals he was going to beat up if he could help it.

"Jeremy, the other Shadows will be here too!" The dingo was frantically looking around at her companions.

"Can in Ishtar!" Jeremy shouted back, "Carlos, you got the loot?"

"What's the point, we're made," the goat argued back.

Crimson watched his prey squabble with restrained glee, they were actually in a much better situation then he let them know, but that panic would make them sloppy. It was only a matter of time before one of them made a mistake. Then the increasingly desperate coyote turned on the ewe cashier and fired. His aim was poor and instead he hit his own ally in the side of the belly. The female dingo fell to the ground, howling in pain. As the ewe dove for cover the billy goat screamed, "The hell Jeremy!"

The shock of the coyote turning his gun on the hostage momentarily stunned the Crimson Banshee, long enough for coyote to race for the door. "Save her or catch us, your choice freak!" He shouted back as he exited as fast as he could move. The billy goat was equally stunned by his friend's actions, but recovered and also started to run away. Crimson wasted no more time and leaped forward, a swift backhand sent the goat clean into the store counter and knocked him unconscious. Reginald was torn between saving the dingo or running after the coyote, but a quick shout made the decision for him.

"I've got her, get that freak!" The ewe cashier had kicked the downed dingo's gun away and had her hands pressed to the wound to stop the bleeding.

"He said they were fakes," Ishtar muttered between pained breaths.

"Don't talk, just take deep breaths and pray," the ewe advised her attacker.

The Crimson Banshee didn't need any further convincing, he was out the door and after the coyote. It wasn't hard to track him down once Crimson jumped onto the roof of the building, the coyote was sprinting through the backstreets and taking multiple turns to try and throw off the vigilante. It was no use, Crimson chased him from on top of the roofs before jumping down right in front of him. He delivered a glancing blow with his foot as he came down and sent the coyote to the side. The small predator tried unloading the rest of the bullets he had, but barely any of them even hit their target and Crimson was used to working through bullet wounds. He blitzed forward and punched the coyote hard in the arm, breaking the limb. The gun clattered to the ground and the coyote fell to his knees in pain. Crimson offered no respite, he kicked the gun mammal in the gut and sent him against a brick wall.

The terrified mammal looked up at the advancing demon before him and pleaded, "Please, no more." The Crimson Banshee ignored him and drew back his fist for a punch to the head. The coyote closed his eyes and waited for the end. Then a gunshot rang out and the coyote slumped to the floor. Crimson turned in alarm and saw Sergeant Red standing behind him, his tranq pistol having just rendered the coyote unconscious.

"What are you doing here," Reginald demanded.

"Nightspinner is tending to the dingo back in that store, something you should have been doing," Ronan informed as he moved past his brother and scooped up the coyote.

"That idiot ewe was helping her," Reginald protested.

"That ewe is more of a hero then you are, what were you thinking going out on patrol while on an emotional high?" Ronan started walking back towards the store.

"What my team does is none of your concern!" Reginald chased after Ronan while not answering the question.

"This was you acting alone, not your team," Ronan calmly countered, "I know because I saw you leave and let them know."

"Well I came out here for a reason of my own," Reginald stated.

"Yes to throw a giant temper tantrum because you didn't get the revenge you think you are owed," Ronan stopped beating around the bush.

"You lot crash into our city, that psycho bitch nearly kills my friend and tries to beat the living shit out of me, and I'm supposed to just let it go because there's a good reason you wound up here!?"

"The rest of your team had no issues with it, this is just you being selfish."

Reginald was indignant, "How am I being selfish!?"

"Hannah was the one who got hurt, Hannah was the one who hurt Aaron, and yet she and Robyn have buried that hatchet. Yet you keep digging it up because things didn't go the way you wanted. You are making Hannah's conflict your own."

Reginald seethed but saw they were back on the street with the store on it, the cops had arrived and Nightspinner was scurrying away, "Leave him there Red, thanks for the assist. Crimson get your ass back to the Dungeon right now, Hightower is going to have very strong words for you."

Reginald sighed but knew he couldn't win against Nightspinner and Sergeant Red, so he quietly tailed the two other mammals back to the Dungeon, wondering what Hightower would have to say.

000

Robyn really hated having to lie, but shortly into her conversation with Ryan through the mirror she knew she just wasn't up for it, so she settled for updating him on the situation and informing him that they had friends in another dimension helping them out. Ryan seemed to understand her distress and gave her space, promising to have something more productive to report next time.

Hella calling everyone in the Dungeon to the upper levels was a welcome change of pace from the somewhat awkward talk she'd been having with Fuli and Hannah about the logistics of talking across dimensions. The group arrived at the room in question to find Clara, the Mage and a teary eyed Victoria already there. Even before they arrived they could hear the sounds of a violin played. The gathered mammals watched as the local Luna delivered a skilled rendition of Salut D Amour, Maiden was off to the side, holding up a finger to her lips to silence the onlookers. Luna finished her rendition and put the instrument down. Victoria clapped softly, Luna threw her arms around herself and started shaking like she was cold, but managed to not trade off with Andi. The rest of the onlooking mammals also joined in the soft clapping and Victoria walked over to her daughter.

"That was beautiful, I'm so proud of you Luna."

"T-thank you mother but, if more mammals are here, then I'm going to go," Luna looked for a slightly more dignified exit.

"It's okay Luna," Maiden comforted, "but promise me you'll keep doing this."

Luna hastily nodded in agreement before she slipped away and Andi was back with them.

Outside the room Kodi turned to look at Robyn and saw that she was looking at him, not in anger as he'd expected, but with nervousness. Last time he'd gone to talk with her he'd been doing so with the intent of self-justification and ending drama rather than trying to mend the heart of his oldest friend. "Robyn I," Kodi started.

Robyn held up a hand to silence him, "Not now." Her voice matched her expression. Kodi was a little disappointed, but also relieved.

"You're not ready either?"

"Not yet, but soon, promise," Robyn said nothing else before turning away.

Suddenly Hella's voice called out and informed the group of Reginald's recent actions. Victoria pinched her brow in frustration at first, but suddenly she got a very sly grin on her face. She marched over to the doorway and called out, "Robyn dear."

"Uh, yes," the hybrid answered, confused at being called out.

"Your sister asked me if I had any advice I could give you with your current team drama," Victoria announced.

Everyone looked surprised that Victoria was making that statement amidst a crowd, Luna most of all. Robyn tried to move things along, "Then...do you have any?"

"Nope, I don't think I have anything to help, just wanted to let you know your sister is looking out for you."

"Yeah uh, she's great like that," Robyn was getting weirded out at this point.

"But I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you?" Victoria followed up.

"Uh, sure," Robyn shrugged, "what can I do for you?"

"Can you please challenge Reginald to a fight and beat the crap out of him?"

AN: What is Victoria thinking? Will Reginald stop before he makes any more mistakes, and can Robyn and Kodi start to properly mend the gap now?

Next time on Dimensions and Time: Robyn vs Reginald!


	15. Chapter 14: The Crimson Banshee

Hey everyone, I'm back with another chapter of Dimensions and Time. Thank you as always to everyone who favorited, followed and reviewed the story. Now there will be no new chapter next week for IRL reasons, but this will be a good place to take a breather. So without further ado, let's get going.

**Chapter 14: The Crimson Banshee**

_Okay look, this needs to stop. _

_If you still want to fight me that badly, I'll meet you in the training room tomorrow morning._

_Because it's been a very, very long day and everyone here needs some sleep._

Robyn's words echoed through Reginald's mind as he finished strapping on his gauntlets for the fight. The other version of his dead sister had confronted him as soon as he got back to the Dungeon the night before, and he had accepted her unexpected offer. She'd turned and left with her team then and there, but his team had laid into him and made it very clear he was in deep shit now.

_Nice going Reginald you really screwed up this time._ In hindsight, he had to agree with his team; going out on his own had been bone headed and he was lucky nothing worse had happened. Robyn had been right that getting a good night's sleep had done wonders for his ability to think straight. The image of Hannah nearly dead on the operating table came back to him again, and Reginald had to wonder if Ronan had been onto something the night before. _Am I really being selfish here, she nearly died but…" _Reginald brushed his doubt aside. She was more reasonable then he'd wanted to accept, he could admit that now, but Robyn still needed to answer for what she'd done in his books.

And yet, Hannah's accusation from last night was also true, he did tend to work himself into a fury when he couldn't brute force a solution to a problem. That was his fault he supposed, his social skills left something to be desired and he always preferred actions to words. But as far as he was concerned that made the upcoming fight even better; it wasn't often the problem willingly put itself in his way. Of course, he still had to actually win the fight.

"What are you hoping to accomplish here?" A stern voice accused. Reginald turned to see Hannah walking up behind him, a firm frown on her face.

"Getting some justice for this mess," Reginald curtly replied. "I know the kid got hurt, but you nearly died."

"I can't believe you're still wrapped around this, I hurt Aaron, Robyn hurt me, we hurt her back, evens all around," Hannah did her best to keep her exasperation in check.

"I don't like seeing my friends hurt, especially you," Reginald stayed composed.

"Especially...dammit Regi you can't _still_ be blaming yourself for that!"

"If it wasn't for me...you were so miserable that year," Reginald justified.

"You did everything you could Regi," Hannah said in a calmer voice.

"And I was still useless," Reginald responded.

"Am I missing something?" A new voice called out. Fuli, Ronan and Maiden entered the room, looking slightly concerned with the argument.

Hannah crossed her arms, "Reginald is referring to how I shoved him out of the way of an explosion the night of the wave, some oven at a coastal movie theater blew up. He still got a lot of shrapnel but I got the full flash and lost my eyes."

"That's...almost the same as what happened in our world," Fuli noted, remembering Ronan's solemn account of the night.

"Three for three," Maiden noted.

"All of, well me, all of us lost our sight the same way?" Hannah marveled at the cosmic coincidence.

"Let's hear it for consistency," Clara stated as she entered with Olivia and the local Kodi.

"Well anyway," Hannah tried to get things back on track, "Reginald's been blaming himself for it ever since, and my being so depressed about it for a while after the fact didn't help."

"I couldn't do anything," Reginald sighed.

"Reginald," Olivia called, "you know I understand that feeling better than anyone, but you need to recognize when something isn't your fault."

"Look," Reginald tried to placate, "Whether I win or lose this thing, it's done after that, I promise."

"This shouldn't even need to happen," Kodi gripped.

"On the contrary Trickster, I argue this very much needs to happen," Victoria drew everyone's attention as she entered the room with Andi by her side, "I wouldn't have set this up otherwise." The statement hung in the air as everyone wondered just what the leader of Team Highshadow was planning. "So who's still missing?"

"Mom's watching Aaron while this happens," Luna replied, "She has no interest in watching her kids beat each other up. So we're just waiting on our Kodi and Robyn."

"Well they can't be too far away," Victoria noted, "so everyone grab a seat, show's on the road shortly."

Everyone followed the suggestion and dispersed, save for Reginald who made his way to one side of the training field. He knew everyone's eyes would be on him, but at this point he was keeping his on the entranceway. His past two encounters with Ronan and Robyn had ended badly for him, but he was determined to win this time. He would make good on his promise to consider the issue dealt with after this, so this was his last chance.

_Robyn, good on you for putting the fight on the table, but I'm not going to hold back even a bit._

000

Robyn has taken her time getting dressed for the fight and shared some words with her mother. Now she was making her way to the training area, expecting everyone else who was attending would already be there.

_He's a lot like you when you were younger sweetie, poor kid never learned some of the lessons you did._ Her mother certainly wasn't wrong, Robyn could certainly recall one incident in particular where her recklessness had gotten her very, very hurt. As devastating a loss as the Rose Thorn duel had been, she had learned from it, the spiked gauntlets she still wore was a testament to that. As Robyn approached the hallway that led to the training area, her train of thought was interrupted when she saw who was standing there.

"Still not a good time Kodi," the wolf was leaning against the side of the doorway, looking deep in contemplation.

"It's not that, do you know what you're doing here?" He gave Robyn a hard look.

Caught off guard by the question, it took Robyn a second to respond, "Pretty good idea, why?"

"Just thinking of the team, we're in a pretty bad situation right now and the last thing we need is to mess things up with our hosts."

"Well this was Victoria's idea, and honestly Reginald's done a pretty good job squashing his good will, but trust me Kodi, I know what I'm doing here," Robyn reassured, "I'm not gonna go overboard."

Kodi nodded, "I trust you." It was a very deliberate choice of words.

"Yeah," Robyn muttered as she walked by. Then she stopped and looked over her shoulder, meeting her friend's look, "I'm sorry."

"For what," Kodi asked. _Why are you apologizing? _

"I could've killed you back in the apartment," Robyn muttered.

"I just let Aaron be kidnapped, no one's holding that against you," Kodi pointed out what felt extremely obvious to him.

"You nearly died," Robyn let out a weak chuckle, "guess I get where Reginald is coming from."

"You're mad at yourself?"

"Of course I am," Robyn scoffed, "I started using this staff to give me some more reach, but it's also so I can hold back. It would be so easy for me to kill someone by accident with my strength, I have to be careful."

"Look, we all slip up when we're emotional, you've certainly made sure that we haven't forgotten that," Kodi tried to put a playful spin on the subject matter.

"No I haven't," Robyn replied.

"Sorry."

"It's okay Kodi."

"I let Aaron get taken."

"Can we just say we're even on this?" Robyn asked.

"Sure," Kodi sighed, "on this." He'd meant for the last bit to be quieter then it came out.

"Look, I've kept them waiting long enough, but you losing to Slash and your guy's trap have nothing in common except for you," Robyn said nothing else as she turned and walked away.

_How did she know?_ the wolf asked himself as he followed Robyn into the arena.

000

The air in the training area of the Dungeon was tense as everyone watched the two hybrids size each other up. Reginald was the slightly taller of the two and had a larger body build overall, while Robyn was slimmer and more agile. She also had her staff where as Reginald had his steel covered gloves. Their power's were exactly the same. Everyone watching knew that this contest would likely come down to a combination of skill and endurance. Victoria was acting as the referee for the fight. The terms were simple; anything was aloud besides hitting below the belt, and the fight would go until one mammal yielded or was knocked out.

Just as Victoria was about to give the go ahead to start, Reginald took off his skull mask and tossed it out off of the field. "Won't do me any good against her," Reginald explained, "no point getting it trashed."

"Good thinking," Robyn said, "I trust you've put at least that much thought into this, you sure this is what you want?"

"Don't talk down to me Scarlet, of course this is what I want, what needs to happen," he insisted.

"Then let's get this started," Victoria announced raising an arm into the air, "On the count of three, one, two, THREE!" she swung her arm down as the signal.

Robyn stayed put as the fight began, eyes locked on to her opponent as he slowly tried to circle her. Reginald stopped still for one moment, and then pounced forward. At the last second he rolled to the side instead of attacking and came to Robyn's side. He needn't have bothered with the swerve, Robyn had made no move to counter his initial charge. She was just in the process of turning when Reginald's first slammed into her gut, she barely had time to double over when Reginald's other fist punched the side of her head and sent her smashing into the ground several feet away. Everyone was stunned at the successful attack, including Reginald, and that moment gave Robyn time to rise to her feet and retake her neutral stance. She still made no move to counter, or even raise her fists. Reginald overcame his moment of hesitation and charged forward, this time he hopped over his opponent and came down on his hands, he kicked out and caught Robyn in the back, once again sending her toppling to the ground several feet away. This time the hybrid offered to reprieve and pressed his assault, Robyn was just getting back on her feet when a straight forward punch connected with her chest and sent her back once more.

Reginald halted after that, "What are you doing!?"

"Do you, _caught_, feel better?" was all Robyn offered in return.

"Shut up!" Reginald demanded. He rushed forward again and this time delivered a series of faster but weaker jabs to Robyn's stomach before finishing with a sideways chop that sent her to the ground. He grabbed her by the ankle and picked her up before slamming her back into the ground, and he did that again and again in several directions. Eventually Robyn was back where she started, except now she was lying on her back looking up at Reginald. As he paused to catch his breath, Robyn got back to her feet and retook her neutral stance.

"Do you feel better?" Her question went unanswered in word form. Reginald punched her hard in the jaw, sending her back. This time it took several repeated punches before Robyn went to the ground. Reginald stomped hard on her left arm, resulting in an audible snap that drew gasps from the audience and a hiss of pain from Robyn. Reginald actually stopped after that, surprised at how far he'd gone so quickly, but Robyn simply got back to her feet, her bones repaired themselves, and she asked again, "Do you feel better?"

Reginald screamed in frustration and grabbed her head in his hands. He slammed his head into hers and dazed them both, but Robyn made no move to retaliate, and the cycle continued. No matter what Reginald did to her, Robyn offered no resistance. A plethora of combinations of punches, chops, kicks and jabs were used, bones were broken and repaired, Robyn was thrown into the ground more times than anyone cared to count, and still all she did in response was to keep asking the same question over and over. Reginald was exhausted, he was putting everything into his attacks but was making no progress. At this point he had one hand on Robyn's shoulder and was punching her in the gut in what, for them, were weak punches. He finally let his limbs fall to the side as he ran out of breath.

"Reginald," Robyn called softly. Reginald looked up and Robyn's face; her scarf had long since fallen off and her face was fully visible. Reginald took a look and saw pain in his opponent;s features, but not physical pain, she simply looked sad. "Do you feel _any_ better?"

"No," Reginald tearfully croaked out. He didn't know when he started crying, maybe out of frustration during his beatdown of the mammal who had...been so willing to repent that she put herself in the ring with him and just let him beat the shit out of her. Reginald looked at the face of a mother who was trapped with her son in a dimension far from home, who had been nothing but reasonable since the ceasefire was called, and he felt like the biggest loser in this or any world. "No," he repeated.

He didn't get a chance to elaborate since Robyn suddenly ducked down and swept her leg in a wide arc under his feet, Reginald was grabbed out of the air as he fell and felt his back pressed against Robyn's chest as she wrapped an arm around his throat. Reginald was barely able to do anything as the air left his lungs, but before he could lose consciousness he gasped out, "I yield!" Not a moment later Robyn released her grip and Reginald went to the ground.

Just like that it was over, it took a few moments for that to register with the audience. Robyn looked out to the crowds. She only saw their reactions at the end, but it had been an emotional ride to say the least. Alice and Victoria's stoic looks were racked with constant fidgeting. Andi, both Kodis, Clara and Olivia were shocked and at some points horrified by the amount of damage Robyn was taking. Luna had struggled not to look away or intervene at various points. Only Ronan and Fuli had remained fairly stoic the whole time, they both caught on to what Robyn was doing quickly and looks between the two confirmed those thoughts to each other.

"Robyn is the winner," Victoria finally called out, and the room seemed to release the breath it was holding. Robyn's teammates gathered around her, but Robyn easily dismissed their worries.

"I was burning in an oil fire when I was protecting Arthur guys," Robyn recalled the horrific damage she'd taken buying time for Arthur and Excailiber to close the rift, "This is nothing."

"That doesn't make it any less hard to watch," Clara huffed, not having the experience the others had with Robyn's worse injuries. Luna and Kodi nodded in agreement.

"Still, nice to know my Ronnie can take all of that and keep fighting," Fuli ruffled the fur atop Ronan's head. Ronan gave an embarrassed but light chuckle in response.

Reginald was getting a more icy reception from his team, Hannah, Kodi, Alice and Olivia were all standing next to him as he slumped down on a bench, but no one said a word. There wasn't a need to ask if he was alright physically, Robyn hadn't used a single direct punch or kick in their fight. "Reginald…" Hannah started to talk but clearly hadn't figured out what she wanted to say.

The temperamental hybrid just sighed, "Well that's that, you guys won't hear another word about...anything from the past few days really." At the awkward silence that followed he added, "I'm sorry."

"Just...please Reggie, this kind of thing needs to stop," Hannah quietly pleaded.

Victoria eventually called everyone away from the training room with the promise of brunch, a much welcome bit of news that made the mammals in attendance realize just how hungry they were. Judy and Aaron rejoined the groups and the former was quietly informed of the results of the battle, the bunny confirmed that she was glad she hadn't attended. The presence of food did a lot to ease the nerves of the various mammals, and soon the younger members of both teams were sharing some of the sillier stories from their childhoods and events that occurred while they were on patrol. Luna took particular interest in what Oni was like since she was still alive in this world. Amidst the general good mood, two mammals were noticeable less excited: Robyn and Reginald. Reginald was sitting a good distance away from the others and was absentmindedly picking at his food and Robyn was supervising Aaron with a small smile on her face. She kept peering over at Reginald whenever she was sure Judy and Aaron weren't looking.

Finally Reginald stood up, put his tray on the trolley it was brought in on and slipped away from the group. The deflated hybrid made his way back to the training room and sat down on the bench next to his discarded mask. He looked down at the mask meant to inspire fear in the hearts of mammals, and the hollow eye holes seemed to pierce right through his consciousness.

_Nice going Reginald, you really screwed that one up. What was I thinking?_

_Do you feel any better?_

_No._

His honest reply played again in his head as the events of the fight, if you could call it that, flashed through his memories. All that physical punishment he'd dealt out, and he didn't feel any better about anything. If anything he just felt worse.

_What am I even doing? _Reginald remorfully asked himself.

"I get it you know?" A voice interrupted his moping. Reginald turned to see Robyn joining him on the bench with Ronan coming in the room after her. "Being that angry, the injustice of the whole thing, wanting to brute force a solution, I've been there."

"Tch, you ever screw up this badly?" Reginald asked.

"I rushed an opponent who was way out of my league and got basically tortured on a rooftop," Robyn replied with a casualness that ill fit the seriousness of that incident.

"Uh, ouch, okay that's never happened to me," Reginald responded. As Robyn had hoped, he was hooked on her presenting a pretty rare for any of them scenario, "who was this chump?"

"Alice, back when she was still an assassin," Robyn replied.

That got startled reactions from both of her brothers, "I'm sorry, what!" Ronan gasped.

"I second that what, didn't your Luna _marry_ Alice?" Reginald blustered.

Robyn chuckled, "She had a change of heart, and there's like two dozen steps in between. Believe me it took a lot for me to accept that she'd changed."

"That's...certainly different from how it happened in my world," Ronan shook his head.

"I can't believe Mom and Dad were okay with that," Reginald looked directly at Robyn, "they know about your team right?"

"They do, though they certainly were not happy about either thing at first but, well, you'd be surprised what mammals are willing to forgive when someone puts in the effort."

000

Back at the conference table, Victoria kept her eyes on the doorway to the training area. Ronan had disappeared into the hallway after Robyn a few minutes ago and none of the hybrids had re-emerged so far, "Well this worked out better than expected," Victoria said to herself.

Andi smirked from Victoria's left side, "You were lying through your teeth when you said you couldn't help Robyn," she accused.

Victoria shrugged, "Guilty as charged, it wouldn't have worked as well if I told them outright."

"Care to fill me in?" Luna asked from the right side.

"I know you haven't gotten the impression, but Reggie's normally on the more unstoppable side, and the few things that did outclass him, like Oni, he didn't really mind," Victoria summed up. "The poor kid has seen so much go wrong in his life, and it's been wearing him down a lot these past years. You've probably noticed that means he has a hard time accepting any fault in himself, he needs victory to be absolute, he needs to be the good guy every time and it's made him very bad at self reflection." Victoria's face hardened, "Reginald needed to come up against something that all his strength and anger couldn't overcome, and that was Robyn."

"And other me's alternate self's sister?" Andi asked, seeming to take a bit of joy in the couple seconds it took her company to process her question.

"Yes, Robyn," Victoria continued, "Robyn, I gather, is a lot like her mother, attitude wise at least. I get the feeling she was never shouting to make the world a better place but still. She's at her best when she's helping other mammals. So having the mammals she cares about the most in the world hurt her, with little good closure or resolution, and then peak that chain of misery with her hurting other mammals, even for a justifiable reason? The poor girl's lost sight of why she put that costume on in the first place."

Luna nodded, "Robyn's the one who got the younger members of our team to start being heroes in the first place."

"I might've known," Victoria smiled. "Anyway, what she needed was an opportunity to really help someone, something to remind her of why she does this. Based on what you told me Luna, I think Robyn might get Reginald more then anyone else ever has, and like I hoped, she followed him back to that room to finish what she started in that fight. I admit I didn't see her letting him use her as a literal punching bag to make him realize his anger wasn't getting him anywhere, but points to her for getting creative."

"And it might've also been her way of repenting for what she did to Hannah and Reginald," Luna sighed, "Oh Robyn."

"Chin up gal," Andi encouraged, "I've got a feeling things are finally looking up for your sister."

000

"Tunnel vision?" Reginald asked. Ronan had just used the term to describe his alternate universe brother. The three had ditched the benches and were now sitting in a triangle formation on the floor."

"Yes," Ronan nodded, "you get so focused on the thing in front of you and how you want to solve it that you can't see any other options."

"And in his case that solution is usually hitting it really, really hard," Robyn added.

"Well what do you expect?" Reginald asked in exasperation, "a lot of this is pretty messed up!"

"Being outraged in an outrageous situation is a good thing," Ronan agreed, "but you need to know how to proceed from that point. Look at this past day; yes Hannah almost dying and Robyn's brutality during the fight in the Dungeon are certainly good causes to be angry, but you were given a means to resolve that conflict in a manner that didn't involve further conflict and yet you still insisted on it."

"I know I made a mess of things yesterday," Reginald began.

"Yesterday? How often could someone out in the main room substitute yesterday for any other situation you've been angry at and your reaction stays exactly the same?" Ronan asked a question he knew the answer to.

"A lot," Reginald admitted, his previous air of mild defiance wilting away.

Robyn stepped in, "Basically, you're mad at something worth being mad at, but you never let yourself stop being mad even when the reason for being mad is over."

"And when that happens you only end up hurting yourself, your friends and maybe even someone unrelated to the situation," Ronan surmised.

Reginald looked down, dejected, "I owe my team a proper apology," he sighed, "but I can do this now." Reginald sat up properly, " I'm sorry Robyn, you've been going through enough hardships lately without me dragging a fight out like I did."

"Apology accepted doofus," Robyn teased.

"So, why'd you guys come back here to help me? I figured you'd want nothing to do with me after yesterday."

"It's not like we can turn our backs on a mammal in need, especially when we know the solution," Ronan smiled, "Mom taught us that."

"Yeah she did," Robyn agreed.

"Same here," Reginald smiled, "though I'm not the best at it, I'm amazed I've actually held into my personal trainer job as long as I have."

"You're a personal trainer?" Ronan asked.

"Yeah, I work at a gym over in the Sherwood district," Reginald explained.

"Certainly not a politician," Robyn noted.

"What!?" Reginald exclaimed, "where'd you get that crazy idea?"

"You remember how I mentioned Doom and his world of humans?" At Reginald's nod Robyn continued, "Well I met my counterpart there and since everyone's the same species all four of us are alive there."

Reginald gapped at that news, "Lucky."

"Not as much as you'd think," Robyn didn't elaborate, letting Reginald's imagination do the work, "But she and I had the same job, and I think her Ryan has a similar job to the one we've been seeing. And Reginald…"

"He takes after his Dad," Ronan smiled.

Robyn saw Reginald's confusion, "Dads the mayor in our worlds."

"The mayor! But he's...Dad's not a...what happened to Mayor Moon!?" Reginald finally settled on something to be shocked about. "Don't tell me he's dead too."

"Afraid so," Ronan confirmed.

"Damn," Reginald looked off to the side, "sooo what does Ronan do in, er, Robbie's world?"

"He's a cop," Robyn said plainly.

Looking over Ronan's attire, Reginald nodded, "Yeah that makes sense."

"Well, he's the lucky one," Ronan scoffed.

"Ronan?" Robyn and Reginald turned to their suddenly more dour brother.

Ronan caught himself and was back to a neutral expression in an instant, "I'm sorry, it's just that I wanted to be a cop like mother but thanks to these powers I can't, one injury and my secret identity is exposed."

"And that would connect you to Mom and Dad," Robyn realized.

"Not to mention put the rest of your team at risk," Reginald added, "Olivia figured out all of our identities just from unmasking Kodi." He shook his head at all the implications, "Yeah I agree it's not safe, that's rough pal."

"I don't regret putting this uniform on and helping mammals after the wave, but with that option off the table I don't really know what I'm gonna do after I graduate."

"Well, what are you going to college for?" Reginald asked.

"High school," Robyn corrected.

"Huh?"

"I'm in my final year of high school," Ronan clarified, "I'm seventeen and Robyn's twenty one."

Reginald gawked at the two before burying his face in his paws, "I got my ass handed to me by a teenager. Back on subject back on subject," he babbled while the other two chuckled.

"Well, I know I have to take over as leader of the team but I don't want to live off of a Ceartais salary forever," Ronan explained.

"Wait, _have to_," Reginald repeated, "why have to?"

One quick but slightly more detailed recap of Ronan's history with Ceartais brought Reginald up to speed, Ronan's brow creased in frustration as the story was told but he otherwise kept a straight face, "The team needs to get out of the M.M. Gang's shadow, and Olivia's still too much like them for her own good."

Reginald looked bizarrely contemplative during the recap, and he spoke up as Ronan finished, "If it's what you want then sure, but are you sure you aren't being a bit selfish about this?" Reginald recycled the point Ronan had thrown at him last night.

Ronan looked indignant, "How am I being selfish?"

"It's well, good that you care about your friends and the city, but it sounds like everyone else in your situation has already made peace with it, but it sounds like you're making this about yourself," Reginald tried to get the point across.

Robyn picked up the baton, "I think what he's trying to say is that you should be leader because you want to, not because you feel obligated to."

"And Victoria did say being a leader involves making choices that benefit the whole, sounds like your the only one still making a big deal out of this and that's only gonna hurt the group," Reginald relayed some wisdom from his own boss.

Ronan actually looked startled, something that had seemed so natural to him had just been put in a new light, "I've always wanted to be like Mom, you know? Make the world a better place, that's why I want to keep being Sergeant Red even though Phelps has been dealt with."

Robyn smiled, "Then that's the attitude you should lead with, not being tied down by shit that happened in the past."

"Especially if it's been resolved," Reginald muttered, knowing the advice applied more to him most of the time.

After a few quiet moments, Ronan smiled back "Thanks you two, I think I needed to hear that."

"It's what we do," Robyn smiled, "It's why I think all of us started doing this."

"Funny how we tend to be our own worst enemies, eh?" Reginald joked and got a small chuckle out of Ronan.

Robyn thought about the joke though, _Both of them were just making themselves feel worse even if their anger was right, am I doing the same thing_?

"Say Robyn, isn't it time you called Robbie again?" Reginald asked.

Robyn realized it had been over twelve hours since she'd last tried, and they'd agreed on half a day intervals, "Yeah, let's get some answers." She led the two to the same mirror she'd used the night before, but her attempts only yielded static. "Are you kidding me!?" She yelled in panic.

"Is this supposed to happen?" Reginald asked.

"No," Ronan bluntly replied, "try contacting Ryan."

Robyn did just so and was relieved to see her tech savvy brother right at his desk, she held up a message. Ryan noticed and quickly got into position himself.

Robyn: Ryan, the world we were getting information from has been blocked!

Ryan: I figured something like that might happen Robyn, if someone is after you they'd try and cut off your avenues of escape.

Robyn: Well what do we do now!?

Ryan: Stay calm for one, I think you should try and come to my world before we lose contact as well.

Ronan: Why your world?

Ryan: My world has had heroes and crazy stuff like this for a long time, we'd be better equipped to help you.

"Robyn," Luna called as she entered the room, having heard the earlier shout. The rest of her team and Fuli were with her, with the local mammals further behind. Robyn turned back to see the scene had changed again, and this was the most alarming one so far. The Kion version of Roar and Andraste were locked in a battle with Bullet and what looked like Alice with a different outfit and an unknown lioness. Both sides were going all out.

Kodi raced forward, "Robyn look away!" But he was too late. An all too familiar blue light surrounded the mirror and started sucking mammals in. The rest of the local mammals were far enough away to be unaffected, but Reginald, Ronan, Robyn and Kodi had no escape. Fuli and Clara raced forward after their respective boyfriends, but Luna thought quickly and fired her magnetic grapple arrow at a wall, she reached out and grabbed Judy, who was carrying Aaron, and the grapple belt was just strong enough to pull the three mammals away from the portal.

The light faded once again and Luna looked around. Team Highshadow were stunned silent at the sudden event, but Luna quickly realized they were the only other mammals left in the room. She'd been able to keep little Aaron from being dropped into another battle, but Robyn, Ronan, Reginald Kodi, Clara and Fuli hadn't been so lucky.

AN: And just when things were starting to look up to. We have our party for the next world, but what awaits them there, find out next time.

Reminder: No new chapter next week.

Next time: No teases for this one folks.


	16. Chapter 15: Steel Blood

Hey everyone, after last week's hiatus we're back with the next arc of Dimensions and Time. Thank you so much to everyone who read, followed and reviewed my story, it really does mean a lot. This is where we start to get some pay off to things set up earlier in the story so let's see how you guys and gals like it. Here we go.

**Chapter 15: Steel Blood**

Ryan Wilde watched the mirror on his desk go back to showing his own reflection and wanted to scream in frustration. Until a moment ago he'd been talking to his sister from another dimension; Robyn, but the connection was based on her concentration and was thus fickle by nature. _Damn it Robyn! You…, _Ryan sighed and composed himself, "You're probably going through some of the most stressful days of your life on top of whatever it is that your team put you through." He let his anger at his sister's lapse in concentration fade as he sat back down in his desk chair. Annoying as it was, it also made total sense.

It had been a week and a half ago when he'd first seen Robyn in one of his mirrors and ever since he'd just wanted to get the chance to sit down and talk with her, without bad connections getting in the way. He'd had that chance when she'd contacted him while in Reginald's world, but she was so preoccupied with her current situation that the talk was more of a detailed status update. It was frustrating, of course, but she was holding her recently rescued son at the time, so it was hard to muster any real anger. The kid had looked just as tired and weary as his mother and expecting a good parent to focus on anything else was too much to ask.

Ryan leaned back in his swirly chair and waited, provided Robyn wasn't suddenly distracted, which he found unlikely given how urgent she was, she would probably be back in touch within a few minutes. He took the time to admire his new room. He'd moved in shortly after his first meeting with Robyn and it already had the look of a combined bedroom and laboratory. Basic sleeping setup, a single large monitor, the desk he was sitting at, but what drew his attention now were a pair of display tubes in the corner of the room. Both were tinted so the contents couldn't be easily seen.

Curiosity compelled Ryan to walk over to the tubes, one finger print scan later and the tint on the left faded to reveal his hero outfit: that of Ruby Rose. _An anime ninja, a pastel cop, a Halloween decoration and a showman_, for the retired outfit before him was indeed that of stage magician. The pants were a dark red, they looked like dress pants: very sleek and stylish, but they were actually very resistant to damage and held shape with almost no effort. The shirt was a white, long sleeve piece that was form fitting and comfy. His belt was a simple black strap but the buckle head was a big RR for his initials. He wore a necklace that had a golden star of Ceartais at the end. The real eye catcher was his large jacket which was bright red, sleeveless, went down to his ankles and had overly big shoulders. His ears were hidden by a stylish hat, like a larger version of the one Luna wore as Andraste. His least favorite part had been the red scarf that hid his hybrid short snout from public view. The irony wasn't lost on him that said scarf was the one consistent design feature between all four outfits. The palette of two shades of red along with white as the primary colors was also the same as the other three outfits. _The multiverse has a weird way of keeping things consistent_, Ryan thought as he lowered the tube's tinting, again concealing his former outfit from view.

The minutes crept by and Ryan began to suspect that something had gone wrong on Robyn's end, she's been desperate earlier so why not get back in touch? His musings were interrupted by a signal from his monitor; someone was approaching his door. A quick glance confirmed it was his paternal grandmother: Marian Wilde. She was dressed as ever in her leather jacket and had an ear bud in one ear, no doubt playing some old punk song. Ryan walked back to his desk and opened the door with a wave of his hand across the computer screen.

Marian entered Ryan's room, clutching a tablet in her left hand. "Something bothering you Ryan?" she asked almost immediately.

_You always read me like a book_, Ryan chuckled to himself. "Another interrupted attempt to talk with Robyn and company," Ryan reported.

"Again? The poor dear must be so stressed out right now," Marian replied.

"I tried to get her to come to our world, seeing as, you know, we're actually equipped to deal with this sort of thing," Ryan added.

"Well I'm sure you'll get her to see your point of view, you are rather good at it," Marian teased.

"Oh come on Nana," Ryan blushed, "what are you here for?"

"Ah yes," Marian straightened herself up, "we had an unregistered powered mammal brought in a few minutes ago, medium sized mammal."

"Unregistered?" Ryan tilted his head, "Jeez how'd a criminal manage to escape notice?"

Marian sighed, "It might've been a civilian who was scared of registration."

"I guess, but you'd think mammals would be sure Mayor Bellwheather's laws protecting powered mammals were completely sincere by this point," Ryan pondered.

"You know what that ewe is fond of saying," Marain countered.

"Fear always wins if you let it," they said at the same time.

"Right," Ryan conceded, "guess there'll be doubters even after, what almost two decades at this point?"

"Three months after your parents and their friends solved the savage powered mammals case of 2016, so a little over two decades at this point," Marian confirmed, "I suppose hero teams being outlawed for awhile put a damper on things."

"Until we came along," Ryan bitterly remarked, "can you imagine the PR field day if the public found out no one on Ceartias actually has traditional powers?"

"I had some plans in place for when or if that happened, not that that matters now," Marian informed her grandson, "I take it you've thought about that scenario too?"

"I seriously considered just outing the whole team and its history after..._that_ happened," Ryan's casual complexion turned venomous for a second, "but it would've been more trouble than it was worth."

"And potentially harmful to many innocent powered mammals?" Marian inquired about that seemingly obvious moral reason for not going through with the action.

"Yeah, yeah that too," Ryan agreed, "speaking of which, we should probably do something about this unknown powered mammal."

"Right, I'll send a message too...wait a minute, incoming message from Ceartais!"

"What for?" Ryan was instantly alert.

"They engaged the other half of the team, but during the battle a group of unknown mammals appeared out of nowhere and started intervening with the battle," Marian quickly read off.

'"Out of nowhere? What does that even...wait a minute," Ryan's eyes widened in horror, "the last time Robyn lost contact with me she wound up getting dumped into Reginald's world, you don't think the same thing…"

"Happened here," Marian realized in mirrored alarm.

"Get in touch with the team! We have to warn them before anything happens to Robyn and her friends!" Ryan shouted as he ran out of his room to head to the small control room they'd set up.

"Ryan!" Marian shouted as she ran after him, "the powered mammal from before, what if it's…"

"Oh no, oh no, oh please please please tell me nothing happened to one of Robyn's friends!"

"We may be too late," Marian lamented as they arrived at the control room.

000

For the third time in a row Robyn tumbled into another dimension and was at the bottom of a pile of mammals, and for the third time in a row they were in the middle of a battle. Kodi had learned from his past experiences and had his shield up before he even hit the ground. He let out a sigh of relief that it worked even as he was sandwiched between the Wilde trio below and Clara and Fuli above.

"Aaron!" Robyn called in alarm.

"He's not here!" Fuli shouted back, "Luna got him and Chief Wilde out of the way."

"What is going on here!?" Reginald tried to get himself free with no success.

"Let's wait and see," Ronan tried to get a hold of things, "It's pretty obvious we're in Sahara Square." Ronan was right, a quick glance around them revealed they were in a desert region of Zootopia's hottest ecosystem. They were right outside a deserted gas station at the base of a cliff. The road went straight out through the desert on their left but curved to the right, hugging the cliff wall. That was where the action was happening.

The image they'd seen in the mirror in the Dungeon played out before them; three mammals were locked in combat with two others. The disturbing part was that these were mammals who, in their respective homeworlds, were on the same team.

Roar was the most recognizable, the towering lion was chalk white with a red mane as he was back in Robyn's world. The sight of him made Reginald drop his jaw as he'd never seen an elixir pump powered mammal before. Fighting at his side was Andraste, though several mammals mistook her for The Hood at first. The vixen archer was wearing what looked like the Maiden outfit but with The Hood's color scheme; a full body suit with a hood but colored dark green.

Bullet was fairly similar to versions of her the mammals had seen throughout the various dimensions; blue and silver body armor and dual pistols. The difference everyone noticed was the more staced belt of gadgets and the larger rifle she was currently using. The red sword scabbard gave away the next mammal's identity, though this Alice once again had a new outfit. She wore a long trench coat that was pure white with red trimmings. The coat was closed at the top but opened below the waist to reveal a pair of simple black pants. The most striking feature was her choice of headwear; a traditional japanese geisha mask covered her face; its expression a fixed look of serene determination. Robyn and Kodi noticed that the sword had an ethereal red glow around it, similar to the blue flames that their Alice used as Yueri. No one knew who the final mammal was. She was a lioness with dark brown fur and deeper brown eyes. Her attire consisted of a colorful sports bra looking chest piece, a short pair of pants and a mask. All three were a vibrant purple in color with orange trimmings and the mask had several feathers coming up from the eye ridge section. Everyone was shocked when Roar hurled a huge chunk of rock at the lioness and her entire body turned into a mass of fire and the rock went through her harmlessly. She rematerialized moments later.

The six mammal group hunkered down in the shield bubble, with the various heroes putting on their masks and hoods.

Saying the battle was three on two was a bit inaccurate, really it was Bullet fighting Andraste while the other two battled Roar. The goliath lion sent his signature roar at his two opponents, but both dodged easily. The lioness by turning into a fireball and darting to the side while Alice somehow turned intangible just as she escaped the sonic blast radius. She hurried away as she became solid again.

"She's like me," Sirius gasped.

"Doesn't look like she can hold it for very long though," the Mage observed.

Indeed, Alice was hurriedly sprinting away as Roar tried to angle his roar to clip the phantom bunny. His focus on one opponent left him vulnerable to the other, the lioness materialized as a ring of fire around Roar. He was engulfed in flames and suffocating smoke, causing him to gag and cut off his attack. Alice immediately tossed a grenade of some sort at Roar's feet, dodging an arrow Andraste tried to clip her with in the process. Bullet took advantage of Andraste switching targets to fire a shot from her rifle at the ledge above her. A small stream of rocks and debris forced Andraste to abandon her position and roll away. The grenade exploded without interruption, sending a stream of knockout gas up towards Roar that mixed with the smoke already coming from the lioness. The fire dissipated as the lioness reformed a few meters away.

"Damn you Pyre!" Roar bellowed while groggily gasping for air.

"Alice just stop this!" Andraste pleaded as she regained her footing and knocked an arrow, "we don't need to fight!" Her pleas went ignored by her opponents and Bullet fired at her with her tranq pistol. Andraste dodge rolled away and fired an arrow just as Alice's left hand opened up to reveal a mechanical cannon. She fired at Andraste with an energy blast that sent the vixen to the ground. Andraste lost her grip on her bowstring and the arrow was sent skyward.

The six mammals in Mage's shield watched the battle with looks of horror. Watching mammals they knew, at least from other worlds, duke it out in such a brutal fashion was a truly unpleasant sight. The utterly cold and focused looks on Bullet and Pyre's faces were especially unnerving. Then a voice screamed.

"GET AWAY, IT'S AN EXPLOSIVE!" Andraste called from her position on the ground. The arrow that had been thrown upwards earlier was falling back to the ground...right towards the gas stations gas tanks. The mammals in the bubble had mere seconds to react. Mage tried to throw up an earth wall but it was too late. The arrow hit and the entire station vanished in a massive explosion. Mage ducked behind his too small Earth wall, which at least absorbed some of the blast before he was blown back. Sirius just turned intangible, but the other four could only turn and run very briefly before the blast caught them. Crimson, Scarlet, Fuli and Red were blown back into the sand. The hybrids were mostly just shaken, but Fuli wasn't moving.

"Fuli!" Sergeant Red shouted as he crawled to his girlfriend's side in panic.

"They need help!" Andraste tried to argue, but her three opponents continued to press the attack on her and Roar. The massive lion was almost down for the count, and Andraste was firmly on the defense. None of the other three mammals spared the mammals downed by the explosion a backwards glance.

Sirius was at Mage's side in an instant, being the only one to dodge the blast completely. Mage's shields had at least partially protected them, but he was still a bit groggy. "Okay, we need to help Kion and Luna, sometimes up with the others," Sirius argued.

"Be careful," Mage coughted.

Scarlet had helped Crimson out of the sand dune he'd been partially buried it, after which he promptly started trying to spit out the mouthful of sand he'd accidentally swallowed when his scarf had fallen off. For once his regeneration powers weren't helping him.

"Oh thank goodness," Red wept as he checked Fuli's pulse and confirmed she was still alive Scarlet felt guilty leaving her brother to tend to his girlfriend all alone, but they were still in the middle of a fight.

"On your feet Banshee, we need to help Sirius," Scarlet told the still coughing hybrid. He shot her an indignant look, but nodded and put his headgear back on.

Back with the main fight, Pyre was just about to launch another ball of fire at Roar when a sudden surge of light to her right forced her to dodge instead. Sirius's energy blast had been a warning shot though, and she quickly positioned herself between the two opponents. With one hand aimed at each lion, both of them crackling with energy, Sirius spoke up, "Five of my friends just got caught in an explosion and I want some answers!"

"We are not being responsible for that," Pyre said, trying to get a good look at Roar.

"You certainly had us fooled, none of your team spared us a glance!"

"You are having confusion, we were aware that no harm came to your group," Pyre argued.

"That doesn't explain why a bunch of mammals I'm pretty sure are teammates are fighting like this!"

"Are you wanting to be hurt? If you are seeing this is a battle, you should be staying away for it," Pyre paused for a moment, "from it." The lioness' not quite handle on the english language was brushed off by Sirius.

"Not a chance."

_Okay Reginald, let's not make like Robyn and think fighting Alice through. _The Crimson Banshee knew he didn't stand any chance against any version of Alice in a straight up fight, but he didn't necessarily need to win, and his nervousness was making the reckless hybrid think creatively for once. He let loose his banshee wail as he jumped towards, but not at, Alice. It only needed to get her attention, and it did. Alice watched as the fox sized mammal slammed into the ground in front of her, cracking the solid rock with his fists. Crimson gave a satisfied smirk under his mask as Alice's eyes widened under her mask. Now she was at least going to be cautious around him too.

Scarlet decided to go for the diplomatic approach and didn't make any aggressive actions as she walked up to Bullet. The blind gunslinger sensed the approach and aimed a pistol at Scarlet. "Are you really trying to pull the unrelated third party trick a second time, who even is this fox?" She didn't wait for an answer and instead fired a single shot.

The bullet hit Scarlet and proceeded to do nothing in particular, "I don't know what you're talking about Hannah, but we aren't here to fight."

"And the complete stranger calling me by my real name trick too, how can you be this desperate?" Bullet accused. It was clear from her change to a more evasive posture that her bullet being ineffective worried her.

"The only thing I'm desperate for is answers," Scarlet insisted, "why are Hannah Savage and Alice Kirabito fighting Kion Priderock and Luna Wilde?"

"If you really aren't here to fight, then take your friends and get out of this city while you can," Bullet insisted. "Wait, Kirabito, why would you call her by…" Bullet's sentence was cut off by a bright red explosive going off in the air. Left unattended, Andraste had gotten her barings and was back in action.

"A signal flare!" Scarlet realized.

"Why use that when they have radio?" Bullet asked, then she sensed Andraste aiming again, "Watch out!"

The Mage had just gotten his head clear enough to watch the events unfold. Bullet's warning backfired horrifically. Already distracted by the actually pointless flare arrow, Scarlet's allies turned to Bullet at her shout and away from anyone else. That left Andraste free to fire an arrow straight at Sirius, striking her in her exposed left arm. A lot happened all at once; Sirius screamed in pain and fell to the ground, Pyre surged past the falling wolf to attack Roar once again, Bullet took a rushed shot at Andraste who easily dodged, Alice looked down the desert road and saw vehicles coming towards them at high speed, and Mage opened a portal below Sirius so she fell right into his waiting arms.

The arrow was stuck to Sirius's arm, the arrowhead was a strange syringe shape that had pierced Sirius's fur and skin. Mage noticed a small clear tube beneath the arrowhead was almost finished injecting his girlfriend with a strange clear white liquid. Then the arrowhead detached and fell to the ground.

"I feel weird," Sirius moaned.

"It's gonna be okay, we'll get help" Mage tried to reassure himself and his teammate at the same time.

"You really aren't with them," Bullet said aloud as she tried to get another shot in on Andraste. "I'm sorry but your friend is...how did she get over there?" Bullet was convinced her sense was playing tricks on her; the downed wolf had somehow moved several dozen meters in an instant.

"Bullet!" Alice shouted as she raced towards her ally, Crimson following at a safe distance, "reinforcements are almost here! We need to bail!"

'These mammals are coming with us, they haven't been taken yet," Bullet insisted as she started running over towards Mage and Sirius.

"What's happening to her!?" Mage demanded as Bullet approached.

"You have to leave her, she's already gone," Bullet insisted.

"I am not leaving her!" Mage shouted.

"I'm scared," Sirius weakly muttered, clutching Mage's hand as tightly as she could, "Ko…" Then she went limp.

"She's gone," Alice said bluntly, "leave her or we will be next."

"She can't be dead," Scarlet gasped.

"She isn't, but this is…" Alice went silent as Sirius's eyes snapped back open, "merde!"

Bullet rushed in and separated the two wolves just as Sirius fired at blast of energy right where Mage had been. Sirius's expression was completely blank, her posture carried none of her usual confidence and determination, instead it was almost robotic how her limbs hung at her side and she used only the necessary movements. Said movements being to fire more energy blasts at every mammal present. Mage was too stunned to respond and had to be pulled into a dodge by Bullet.

"Clara what the hell are you doing!?" Scarlet screamed.

"That is no longer your friend, you cannot reach her," Alice insisted as she tried to get an opening.

It was Crimson who solved the problem by rushing Sirius from the side, he caught the wolf unaware and she was tackled into the side of the station's remaining wall. Temporarily stunned, the wolf was unable to move as the rest of the weak wall collapsed on top of her.

"Clara!" Mage tried to run over to her but Bullet held him back. Just as he yanked his hand free and turned back to Sirius, Andraste fired another syringe tipped arrows at his back. He heeded Scarlet's warning shout too late, but before the arrow could strike him, Pyre reformed in front of him and took the shot. She roared in pain but fired a fireball at the archer nonetheless. Andraste dodged but came out of her roll right in Bullet's crosshairs and was finally knocked out by one tranq bullet to the face.

"Is she?" Scarlet pointed to the panting lioness.

"She's fine," Alice insisted. To prove the point, Pyra turned into a ball of fire and then immediately reformed behind the group. "But we won't be soon, they're almost here, Pyre get the leopard!"

"She is a cheetah," Pyre replied calmly as she rushed over to Red and Fuli.

"Don't care," Alice shouted as she ran down the road.

'Get your friend now!" Bullet shouted as she raced after her friends.

Scarlet looked at the approaching forces, there were a mixture of MCB agents and costumed heroes, all with the same blank face that had appeared on Clara. Realizing there was no other way, Scarlet reluctantly left her teammate behind as she grabbed Mage by the arm and led him away. She initially had trouble getting Mage to fumble along, but Crimons doubled back and grabbed his other hand. Mage was still stunned that Sirius had attacked him, and dazzidly followed his allies. Pyre scooped up Fuli and Red had enough sense to see what was coming, so he joined the others in running down the road. Alice looked back and saw that they'd put a few hundred meters between them and the destroyed gas station when the pursuing vehicles arrived at the battle site. The wreckage would buy them some time.

"Where are we going?" Scarlet shouted.

"That ewemart down the road," Bullet pointed to a store several hundred meters away, "there's an entrance to the sewers behind it that we can use to...oh no." Bullet heard it first, but everyone's hearts filled with dread as several armed helicopters appeared from behind a canyon wall past the ewemart and began flying towards them. They had armed helicopters in the front and powered mammals and the MCB behind them.

"We aren't going to make it," Alice realized in despair.

"Do not misplace your heart Blade Dancer," Pyre pressed, "I can take them out."

"Not all three, not fast enough," Bullet agreed with Blade Dancer.

Pyre none the less gently lowered Fuli to Red's feet and took a fighting stance. Red spared his girlfriend a sad look before drawing his pistol and taking aim at the mammals in the rear.

As everyone prepared themselves to at least go down swinging, a ring of orange appeared beneath everyone's feet and dropped them behind the ewemart just as the helicopters passed over it.

"Where's this entrance!?" Mage demanded, closing the portal he'd just used in the process.

"There," Bullet pointed to an open mammal hole, "Go!" Pyre recovered from the shock and once again grabbed Fuli while Robyn got the hole open. In a matter of seconds they'd all scurried down and Crimson pulled the lid back into place.

For several minutes the group silently followed Blade Dancer through the underground. The sewers were quickly left behind to get into some of the actual infrastructure the city was built on. Eventually Bullet called out, "Okay, we're safe here."

"How do you know they won't find us?" Red asked.

"Because we have the best tech support in the world on our side," Blade Dancer spoke up, "She and our guest are operating from our new base underground. We can help your friend there," she pointed to the unconscious but still breathing Fuli.

"...Thank you," Red quietly said.

'Your welcome," Bullet replied, "now I have a lot of questions for GAH!" Bullet's feet were suddenly encased in earth hands, and her own hands followed as she tripped forward. Both earth locks were lifted into the air and Bullet was spun around to face a furious looking Mage.

"No, we will be asking all the questions now!"

"Unhand her magician," Blade Dancer calmly stated as she drew her sword on him. Mage barely paid her a glance as he sent his trapping scarf at the bunny. The fabric dodged the sword slash and wrapped Blade Dancer's hands above her head. She was lifted into the air like Bullet and her sword clattered to the ground. Blade Dancer tried to phase through the fabric, but the moment she became tangible again the scarf rewrapped itself and she was trapped again.

"You can't spam that trick of yours Alice," Mage coldly stated as he removed Alice's mask, revealing the expected white fur and scars underneath.

"You are having great anger, it is understanding, understandable," Pyre placated. Crimson had snatched Red's tranq pistol and aimed it at Pyre. As fast as her fire transformation was, tranq bullets worked faster.

"What. Happened. To. Me. Girlfriend?" Mage demanded.

"Steel blood," Pyre answered immediately.

"What?" Scarlet gasped, she and her brothers recognized the name instantly.

"Project steel blood," Bullet continued, "It's a nanomachine originally built for medical purposes by a genius in the city, it enters the body and bonds with the organic features to enhance them."

"But that's how we got our powers," Crimson finally spoke up, and nothing like that happened to us."

"How did…" Bullet started.

"Stay on subject!" Mage demanded.

"Right, if you know who I am, then you know I'm blind. I was having a lot of problems learning braille, but they realized that they could, well, download the knowledge into the steel blood that had merged with my brain," Bullet explained. "The mammal behind all of this realized that steel blood could be pushed a lot further."

"The serum your friend was injected with was a version of steel blood that replaced the usual adapt and survive directive with a specific and hostile protocol," Alice took over, "It enters the body, goes straight for the brain and takes it over. Any mammal hit with it is put under total mind control. Initially they're just drones, but the steel blood can rewrite memories to brainwash a mammal, like you saw with our former teammates back at the battle."

"That's, that's insane," Red was horrified by the implications, "with a power like that you could…"

"Take over the whole of Zootopia?" Bullet finished, "It's already happened. Every hero who isn't the three of us and our guests, first responders, government, you name it and there's a pretty good chance they've been taken over. And no, we haven't found a way to reverse the process." That last bit was said right to Mage's face. Having gotten his answers, he let the two heroines down to the ground.

"How did you three escape?" Scarlet asked.

"Bullet and I have steel blood of our own that protects us, and Pyre's transformation ability purges any foreign objects from her body," Alice informed as she reached for her katana.

"What do we do now?" Mage muttered in despair.

"Kodi, I think we should go back to their base and gather our options," Scarlet said softly.

There were huge gasps of shock from the three local mammals, "Kodi?" Bullet asked nervously.

"Ugh, yes, my name is Kodi Jones, I go by The Mage," Kodi pulled his mask off.

"It is you," Alice muttered, "but not really."

"He is being from another dimension," Pyre stated, "all of you also are," she waved her hand at the three hybrids.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Kodi asked in irritation.

"Because the Kodi Jones who was being their teammate has died," Pyre answered.

"Oh," Kodi said in a much softer tone, "I uh, sorry to dig up painful memories."

"It's not your fault," Hannah sighed, "but it only happened three months ago and that was when everything went wrong. Oh! If your Kodi, then that wolf from earlier was…"

"Professor Bloom," Pyre realized, "I was not recognizing her in a swimsuit."

"How is Kodi dying related to any of this?" Red asked.

"That explanation will be coming easier back at the base," Pyre said, "And we should be attending to your friend," she picked up Fuli again and resumed walking. "I am Pyre, but my real name is Rani Nighttrie."

The others started to follow, "So are all of you from the same dimension or not?" Hannah asked.

"You seem familiar with the concept," Scarlet noticed.

"It's just one of the crazy things that this little world of ours has seen," Alice replied.

"Well at least we don't need to explain that part _again_," Scarlet tried to joke, but it fell flat. "I'm from the same dimension as Kodi and Clara, ghastly there is by himself, and Fuli's from the same world as the good Sergeant."

"Are you three having names?" Rani asked.

"I'm called Sergeant Red, but my real name is Ronan Wilde," he answered as he took off his helmet. The local mammals gasped at the hybrids' appearance.

"Okay then," Reginald said, a bit weirded out by the reaction to Ronan, "I'm Reginald Wilde aka the Crimson Banshee," he announced as he pulled down his scarf and mask.

"So you're," Alice said as she pointed at Scarlet.

"Yeah, I'm Robyn Wilde, the Undying Scarlet."

"All three of his siblings," Hannah marveled.

"All three, so this is Ryan's world," Ronan realized.

"You've met him?" Alice asked.

"I can see other versions of myself in mirrors," Robyn replied, "I've talked with Ryan a couple of times already. He has steel blood so he should be immune to this too right?"

"He is but, look this is a lot to process," Hannah said. "Mind explaining how you got here in the meantime."

"Alright," Robyn said kindly, "but answer one more question first."

"Shoot."

"Who's responsible for all of this?"

000

An armored car pulled into a deserted parking garage in the middle of Savanna Central, the doors closed behind the car, sealing the room off from the outside world. Three drones stepped out of the car, each blank faced and moving to a predesignated location. The bodies belonged to Luna Wilde, Kion Priderock and Clara Bloom. They didn't have long to wait for their master to arrive.

"I do the mental equivalent of running the marathon trying to get Robyn to come to this world, I get the dimension thinner working so her powers can open portals on their own, I create a mammal made dimension travel blocker and precisely aim it multiple times, all to get her to come here willingly, and all of its ruined because she crashes into your guys' inability to capture a gunslinger, a torch and a sword mammal!" The figure hurled a rolling chair at a Kion, knocking the lion to the ground. The drone ignored any pain the body tried to register and easily returned to its spot in the line up.

Another voice spoke up, "It's our own fault for not thinking of it. Robyn's power locks onto other versions of whoever is on her side of a reflection. We should've accounted for the fact that someone else could open the portal. Still, it's not a total loss, we do have one of her teammates to interrogate," Marian Wilde stepped out of the shadows and pointed to Clara.

"Yes, yes we do," Ryan Wilde agreed. Stepping towards the controlled wolf he said, "You two are dismissed, return to standard procedures." Luna and Kion walked past their master and out of the garage, leaving Ryan and Marian alone with Clara. "Now then you wannabe model, you are going to tell me everything you know about Robyn Wilde and her friends."

AN: Dun dun dun! Ryan's behind everything! Some suspected, at least one outright called it, but here it is. Our heroes have quite the challenge ahead of them, especially since one of their strongest members has been turned against them. Tell me what you think of it.

Next time: We jump back three months ago to see the day where it all went wrong, and we get a proper introduction to the wider world of Robyn Wilde.


	17. Chapter 16: Countdown

Hey everyone, I'm back and what happened with this chapter!? You'll probably notice this thing is almost twice as long as a normal chapter and that's...largely to do with a certain something you'll see halfway through the chapter. Regardless I hope everyone enjoys the look back at where it all went wrong in this world. Thank you so much to everyone who favorited, reviewed and followed the story. Now here we go!.

**Chapter 16: Countdown**

_3 Months ago_

The moments before tragedy strikes seem the same as any other.

The Wilde and Savage families always got together for dinner on Sunday evenings, it was a great way to unwind after a stressful week. They rotated hosting duty between Nick and Judy's apartment, Jack and Skye's home, Luna and Alice's penthouse and Marian's home in the Sharwood district. To make up for the fact that they didn't host, Ryan Wilde and Hannah Savage would always arrive early to help Marian prepare dinner whenever it was her turn. On this day it was the Wilde's turn to host and the nine mammal gathering was going swimmingly.

Deputy Mayor Judy Wilde brought the final item on the menu out; a homemade blueberry pie and set it on the table. While most of the group turned to Nick, who was greedily eyeing his favorite dessert, Ryan caught Alice looking down at her plate with a happy but confused look on her face.

"What's wrong Alice? Nervous about your next dance show?" He teased Alice's hero name to get her attention.

Alice was startled to have been caught in her moment of contemplation, but quickly recovered, "It's nothing really, it's just...even after a few years I'm still not used to...all of this," she waved at the gathered mammals and her empty plate. "I...never thought I'd see the things I've dreamed about come true."

"You've earned it sweetie," Judy said proudly, "your dreams didn't come true just because you tried hard, but because you were smart enough to put that effort in where it counted."

Luna took her wife's hand in her own, "You would know all about that wouldn't you Mom? How long have you and Dawn been setting the stage for powered mammal teams to return?"

"Longer than most knew, that's for sure," MCB Director Skye Savage smiled, "and thank goodness she didn't bring them back all willy nilly."

"Okay okay Wildes," Nick gestured to the pie still on the table, "let's not get so caught up in past lessons that we forget the most important one of all; don't let the pie go uneaten." His joke got a good laugh and successfully ended the line of discussion for most, but Ryan had one last thing to say.

"Well speaking for myself and any mammal who may never get what we dream of, don't take what you have for granted Alice. You worked so hard for it, I'd hate to see you lose any of it."

Alice smiled at her step brother in return, "It's a promise Ryan, now, bon appetit."

000

"Kodi! Can you stop making out with your girlfriend long enough to get ready to go?" Sasha Jones called through the closed door.

There was some scrambling on the other side before the door was shoved open and Kodi Jones came through. He and Clara Bloom were dressed up to attend an art exhibition that Sasha's camerawork was featured in. "Sorry hehe, thought we had more time."

Sasha rolled her eyes, "Honestly," she looked past her brother and met Clara's gaze, "I thought you were the reasonable one."

Clara chuckled, "Oh I usually am but I've been so giddy ever since," Clara stopped talking and held up her hand, her engagement ring glistening in the brightly lit room.

Sasha's annoyance faded quickly as she remembered the happy news her brother had delivered mere days before. "Okay lovebirds, just keep your paws off each other during the show okay."

"Indeed, this is your sister's big night," Gazelle stated as she joined the three, the retired pop-star looking radiant in a one piece red dress.

"And we need to get going," Wade called from the front door. The four mammals answered the call and soon they were on their way. The three younger mammals were seated in the back with Kodi in the middle of his sister and fiance.

Sasha turned to her brother, "Hey, sorry I got snippy with you earlier."

"What? No Sasha it's fine, really," Kodi reassured.

"It's just, this has been a big thing I've been working towards for a while and then you go and drop the big news less then a week beforehand," Sasha explained.

"You felt overshadowed," Clara realized.

"I know it's stupid and I tried to rein it in but…" Sasha started.

"I'm sorry Sasha," Kodi looked down guiltily, "I actually was thinking of that, but after this one talk I had with Clara I just couldn't hold it in anymore."

"Oh, and what was this lovely talk?" Gazelle asked from up front.

Kodi looked around awkwardly for a few moments before explaining, "There's something only I and one other mammal know, they didn't say I had to keep it a secret but to be careful who I told. That was a few years ago. Anyway one thing led to another and Clara kind of caught on, sort of. It was when I realized I trusted her enough to know this little secret that I knew I wanted to marry her." Kodi blushed heavily as he finished his story.

"D'aww, that's so sweet," Sasha cooed. "You trust her that much?"

"Completely," Kodi said firmly.

"Feelings mutual," Clara smiled.

"Well we won't pry any further," Wade reassured, "but we are so happy for the both of you." Gazelle nodded in agreement.

"Thanks Mom, Dad."

000

"Anything else?" Nala Priderock, the chief of police of precinct one asked over her phone.

"Nope, we'll be waiting Mom," Lieutenant Kiara Priderock answered.

"Then I'll be home soon," Nala said before hanging up. Her daughter had just finished relaying everyone's dinner orders. They were getting takeout because none of them were particularly gifted chiefs. Kiara walked back into her parent's living room and saw her father deep in conversation with her brother Kion and his girlfriend Jasiri.

"I'm just saying we're two for three on lion superheroes having fire powers and you aren't actually a powered mammal Kion," Simba said jokingly.

"It is a rather odd coincidence I will admit," Jasiri agreed.

Kiara chuckled, her father was referring to Pyre, the new lioness member of the PMFR, or Powered Mammals First Responders unit. They were a hero team focused more on directly assisting police, firefighters and hospital crews then hero work like Ceartais. Pyre was only the second lion superhero the world over if you were in the know that Roar's powers were actually tech based.

"Well Mr. Pyroar was certainly happy to have someone else take up the mantle, he was posting on social media about it a while back," Kion said. Mr. Pyroar had been a member of the first ever superhero team; the Mad Mammal Carnival, and Pyre's hero name was a direct nod to him. Even though Pyroar was his actual name and his hero name had been Litleo.

"I just wish mammals didn't attach entire species' reputations to their heroes," Jasiri lamented, "It's all luck with that stuff."

"It's disappointing but not unsurprising," Simba sighed, "but it is better nowadays than it was back when I was younger," Simba pointed out.

"But it got really bad for lions after Lionheart was exposed back in 16," Kiara reflected, "anti predator sentiment already and then the mayor starts turning powered mammals savage, it wasn't a good time to be a lion."

"I was too young to really get the worst of it," Kion said, and Jasiri nodded in agreement.

"Well that's certainly true, thank goodness those minority support groups remembered that predators needed support too," Simba picked up his soda can and lifted in toast fashion, "to Dawn and Judy."

"Dawn and Judy," the others echoed.

Kiara smirked, "And to Mom coming straight home from the restaurant and not stopping to do help one of her cops when they don't need it." The others laughed at the chief of police's bad habit.

000

"Annnd, done!" Olivia Gusteau cheered as she punched the last few keys she needed, "with this you'll be able to fully integrate with the current Spitfire mechs Bella."

"I will do the name proud Miss Gusteau," Bella replied, "I am glad that you are retiring before your body sustains any more damage."

"I...I can't even joke about that at this point," Olivia sighed as she unplugged her USB stick. The head was connected to a wire that was on a circle pulley system attached to Olivia's mechanical left leg. The head itself was stored in the upper leg. As Olivia stood up she saw her reflection in the computer screen. She was wearing a midriff bearing sleeveless shirt and a pair of black panties, with no one except Bella in the Bunker she felt no need for modesty, but it left a full view of how much of her body was simply gone.

Olivia's right leg had been severed below the knee when the team took down the powered mammal trafficker Rattigen. It had been a sobering experience to be taken out so easily in the battle against her parent's murderer. The entire left side of her body had been scared during a devastating crash a year and half ago, leaving her left arm crushed at the elbow, her left leg was a prosthetic below the hip, and her left eye and eardrum were both mechanical. Olivia ran her remaining flesh hand over the largest scar on her face, it mirrored the scar that her husband Blake had.

_Blake, I won't make you worry anymore. _While nothing bad had happened since her wedding three months ago, Olivia found she wasn't able to go on patrol with the same fearlessness she'd had when she started. So a week ago she'd made her decision to leave the team. The others were disappointed but understanding, and she gave an advanced notice so she didn't drop it out of the blue. Once she was finished modifying the suits so Bella could pilot them she was officially retired.

"It'll take a few hours to download but after that you're ready to fly Bella," Olivia stated. "Just need to start the process."

Whether it was punching buttons, talking with the family, driving through traffic or having dinner, the members of Team Ceartais and their families were living their not normal but happy lives, and that would last for a few more seconds.

KABOOM!

The various mammals, of Ceartais and throughout all of central Zootopia, stopped what they were doing as the sound of a massive explosion thundered through the city. Those close enough to ground zero saw that, in the middle of Savanna Central, a large hotel complex had had it's roof blown off. The entire top floor of the building was in flames and mammals were already fleeing the lower floors.

The Wilde and Savage families had heard the explosion and Hannah had quickly directed the group to the correct window. The smoke pillar was easily visible. Jack raced over to the TV to get news updates. The familiar voice of Fabienne Growley gave the group live updates as the disaster unfolded. First responders were already on the way over to assist mammals but it was unclear if the building could be saved. Alice was the first to suggest foul play as the explosion didn't look like it was caused by any kind of internal failing.

Luna suddenly heard her phone give off a buzz, she'd personalized it so that each of her friends had a unique sound when they texted her. This particular buzz was for Olivia. She quickly read out the text, "Check social media or the news, it's Pinkerton, Bella's sending the stars to pick everyone up. We've got to hurry!"

Luna wasted no time getting Tweeter open while Nick just looked confused. "Pinkerton? Who is this mammal?"

"That explosive dummy," Hannah said with disdain.

Nick's eyes widened, "You don't mean?"

"She does," Luna announced as she flipped her phone around so everyone could see the video. The display image showed a large feline male in a ridiculously bad costume topped off with a tin foil hat.

"TNTiger," Skye spat, "what is he doing out of the mental ward?" That question was put on hold as Luna hit play.

"Mammals of Zootopia! Once again you have the great pleasure of being graced by the greatest villain this world has ever seen; TNTiger! I trust you're all enjoying the new light I've given Savanna Central, after such a long absence I felt the need to reestablish my unrivaled destructive powers! But fear not, the upper floors of that building were deserted due to renovations, but the other locations that I've rigged are not so sparsely populated. Such as the one right down the street from the first explosion. I will give Team Ceartais half an hour to arrive and meet me in person for our final face off. If any cops, agents or other powered mammals try to intervene then I will set off the other explosives I've set up throughout the city. To prove my point: an additional explosive will go off at the medium mammals ice skating rink in Tundra Town at 6:45, and an additional bomb will be denoted every five minutes they aren't right in front of me. That is the start of your timer Ceartais, don't be late!" He finished off his long monologue with a cackling laugh.

"What time is it?" Judy asked, having left her phone charging in the kitchen.

"6:44," Marian answered, already heading to the door, "we need to move!"

"It just went off," Luna announced, "we're on the clock."

"Ceartais get to the stars. Jack and I will mobilize the MCB to track down the bombs. Judy, call Dawn and have her give us unrestricted access to all security systems in the city, and Nick...uh, eat the pie," Skye fired off order.

Alice suddenly jumped onto the table and used a knife to cut the pie into nine pieces, "Eat and run!" She yelled, grabbing a piece for herself and racing to the door, the others followed suit, leaving only Nick and Judy behind in the apartment.

000

"Is this secure?" Wade asked as he pulled into a mostly empty parking lot.

"Bella! mess with the security cams and let me know if anyone is around," Kodi said aloud, "yes it's secure."

Clara opened her door and let Kodi out as one of Bella's cars drove up next to them. She looked fearfully over to the smoke billowing in the sky but put on a brave face for Kodi, "Go save the city hero." She then pulled him into a quick but passionate kiss before stepping to the side.

"Go get him bro!" Sasha called.

"Be careful Mijo!" Gazelle called in worry.

Kodi flashed his family a smile and a thumbs up before getting into the car. The stars, as Bella's group of cars were called, were designed to quickly transport the members of Team Ceartais to any location throughout the city without needing to make the sometimes lengthy trip to the Bunker. To that end they were driven by Bella and each contained the costumes of the various members so they could get changed in route. Kodi wasted no time ditching his fancy clothing and swapping to the simply but iconic attire he wore as the Mage.

"How are we on time Bella?" Kodi asked as he slipped on his HUD mask.

"It is 6:53 Mage," Bella informed, "a police cruiser is clearing the traffic in front of us."

"Good, we've gotta move fast. Did that nutcase set off another bomb?"

"Yes, at a shipyard in the Canal District."

"Damn it," Kodi swore, "How far away is everyone?"

"You are the furthest out, and we have about three minutes to go." As promised, another bomb went off at 6:55, this time at a park in Happytown. The Mage anxiously awaited his own arrival when Bella announced, "We are here."

Mage was out the door before the car had completely stopped. He raced past the police cruiser and started analysing the building with his HUD. He immediately saw several bombs throughout the upper building, as well as some sort of control unit TNTiger himself was carrying. There were also some random pieces of tech scattered at his feet. "Maid, are you getting all of this," Mage asked the team's tech support.

"I am Mage, but I don't dare try and hack any of this. I can't do it all at once and he probably has some sort of failsafe to make the bombs go off if I try," Marian called back. She had taken a seperate star vehicle back to the Bunker.

Mage joined his team at the base of the building, "Tell me there's a plan."

Olivia grinned inside her Spitfire mech, "Yup, take a look at Ruby." Mage did as instructed and immediately had a grin to match.

000

TNTiger heard the heroes approach his location in the lobby area of the top floor. The hotel had a luxury suit for the richest of guests and he'd set up his shop there. The 15 minute mark passed and although he knew that Ceartais was almost upon him he still set off another bomb to punish the group for whatever time they'd taken to plan. This time he chose a bomb on the roof of a bank in Sahara Square. Setting up his master plan had not been easy, and had required a lot of networking. Fortunately for him Ceartais was not short on enemies.

_Now shining heroes, your own victories will fuel my greatest triumph. General Bombardier, I am your successor and tonight I will prove it! _The maniac tiger had one last moment to himself before the doors opened and the seven mammals of Ceartais marched into the room.

Spitfire spoke up immediately, "Alright Pinkerton, we're here and you haven't made any other demands. What do you want?"

TNTiger was fuming, "It's TNTiger you bucket of scrap iron, you will not speak to the greatest villain of all time with his unworthy civilian name!"

"Alright then," Andraste smarmed, "what do you want Pinkerton?"

"Gah, you will regret your arrogance soon archer, for tonight I will get what I've so desired; the death of Team Ceartais!" The tiger held out his arms in a victory pose.

The team was surprised to say the least. Bullet spoke up first, "You set all of this up just for another shot at killing us?"

"Of course! My hero, the great General Bombardier, was the one to bring down the Mad Mammal Carnival. Now, just as he brought down the first ever hero team, I will do the same to the first modern hero team!"

Mage tilted his head, "Bombardier could make inanimate stuff exploud on contact, you make bombs in your basement."

"GENERAL Bombardier you…" TNTiger's scream was cut off as he saw something descend on him in the corner of his eye.

"Dynamic entrance!" Ruby Rose shouted as he fell towards TNTiger from the ceiling. He quickly kicked the tablet TNTiger was holding with one leg and kicked the tiger himself with the other. The Ruby standing with the group was a training mech wearing a back up costume. The real Ruby had slipped in through one of the windows with the help of some MCB agents while the rest of the team kept him talking. Andraste raced forward and caught the tablet while Ruby landed on the floor. Not giving his enemy a moment to recover, he leaped up to deliver a fierce uppercut, "Rose sprout!" The tiger rolled away and faced away from the heroes. After a moment's pause he turned back and hurled a grenade at the approaching Blade Dancer. She easily phased through it and Spitfire trapped the explosive in a metal pod, where it detonated harmlessly. Dancer had her sword at TNTiger's throat before the second had passed. Roar secured the tiger's arms and Mage joined Andraste in examining the tablet. "You're a second rate knockoff in a fourth rate costume tiger!" Ruby taunted.

"Let's get these bombs deactivated, Maid we've got Bella interfacing with this tablet," Andraste called.

"Sure thing, simple set up really, the bombs are designed to explode all at once if any of them are breached from an unknown force, but this master control can deactivate them all safely...wait, what is this!" Maid suddenly sounded horrified, "the tablet just sent a signal to all the bombs, they don't recognize it as a friendly anymore!"

"But how?" Andraste demanded, "there's dozens of them!"

Mage looked around and noticed something he hadn't seen with his HUD before; there was a simple piece of machinery hidden under the rug TNTiger had been standing on. It hadn't stood out amongst the other bits of tech when viewed through mage's HUD. The wolf yanked the rug up to reveal a small square panel in the middle.

"A pressure plate!" Spitfire shouted.

"What is the meaning of this tiger!?" Blade Dancer pushed the tip of her sword closer.

"Be, cough, hold the, cough, final piece," TNTiger gagged on something before opening his mouth right at Blade Dancer and revealing a gas grenade going off, one he'd shoved in his mouth when his back was turned to the group. The bunny's reflexes weren't fast enough to dodge the sudden plume of green gas and her left arm was clipped.

"AAHHH!" The bunny cried as she fell to the ground.

"Dancer!" Andraste ran to her wife's side and yanked the glove off of her afflicted hand. The sight nearly made the veteran surgeon puke. Blade Dancer's skin was scabbing and rotting at the same time, it was just her hand for now but the burning rot was already spreading up her arm.

"The mighty swords bunny falls to the power rot!" TNTiger cheered, "it reacts with the floridium in your body and kills you from the inside!"

Roar gripped the maniac's arms tightly, "How do you stop it?" The rot was already halfway to the bunny's elbow.

"You can't!" TNTiger cheered, "the powered mammal hit with it is doomed to an agonizing death!"

"Not, GAH, yet!" Blade Dancer seethed. The bunny grabbed her sword off the ground and, in one clean motion, sliced her arm off above the elbow. She screamed in agony once more, but the rot had been separated from the rest of her body. Andraste had realized what her wife was going to do and wasted no time lighting a signal flare arrow to cauterize the wound.

For once TNTiger was stunned silent, but he shook his head and was back in the moment, "Your tenacity may have saved you bunny, but the other powered mammals in this city will not be so lucky!"

That statement got everyone's attention, "Some of those bombs are loaded with more of that gas aren't they?" Spitfire asked, her voice modifier hiding her horror. Blade Dancer's severed arm already looked like burnt meat on charred bone.

"And the horrible truth dawns on the unsuspecting heroes, you'll find them on the tablet Mage," TNTiger pointed out.

The Mage looked at the tablet, which was showing a top down map of Zootopia indicating where all the bombs were located. Pushing aside the terror of seeing 76 bombs still active, he saw that several of the dots were green in color. "There's 15 of them!" Tapping one of the dots, Mage saw a timer counting down at 40 minutes, "This things been counting down since he sent the message!"

"We need to move now!" Spitfire shouted, "Maid, get in touch with director Savage and Camelot, we'll need all the help we can get."

"It's worse than that, ever since the tablet disconnected one bomb has been going off every half a minute!" Maid reported.

"Ruby, stay here and direct everyone, Andraste get Blade Dancer to a hospital, the rest of you get to the stars and get to a bomb. Bella, get the back up mech's to deliver disabler disks." The heroes did as they were told and soon only Ruby Rose was left with the bound TNTiger.

"Your efforts are for naught heroes ," TNTiger called, "tonight I fulfill my destiny."

Ruby gave TNTiger an odd look, "You could've set off the bombs and the gas and no one would've seen it coming, but you called us here and put them on a timer. You really don't care about whether the bombs go off or not, you just want us dead."

"I am to be the greatest villain Zootopia, no, the world had seen since General Bombardier, but you star bastards threw me in that insufferable mental hospital for YEARS instead. I spent all that time planning my revenge, and tonight I reap my efforts!"

000

39 minutes. 15 bombs remain.

Ruby, Maid and Bella started directing the various mammals to the locations of the bombs. Every bomb squad in the city was scrambled and directed to the nearest explosive. Skye set up a dedicated radio line to tell the crews to get to a safe distance at thirty second intervals. Unfortunately the Bunker was short on disarm disks to mess with the electronics of the bombs, only twenty were in stock. With only five spares they couldn't risk sending them in until the area had been secured, nor could any be spared for the regular bombs. As such, the two backup Spitfire mechs were piloted by Bella and would hold the disks until they were ready.

38 minutes. 15 bombs remain.

Spitfire had the biggest plate of targets she needed to deal with, as she was going to sweep the coast and take care of all the bombs near the water. That was eight bombs in total. The inland wind would do well to carry the gas all over the city. As she descended on her first target at the far end of Tundra Town, her scanner detected a single heat signature coming from near the bomb. She flew in and identified the target as Gluestick; a minor villain bunny from out in the burrows who could create sticky goo. Ryan had caught him a few holiday seasons ago, but his sentence had been light since he was only a thief. Spitfire didn't spare the question of why he'd decided to team up with TNTiger any though, she just fired a single tranq dart and downed him. "Bomb area secured, everyone be careful. He's got mammals guarding the bombs."

37 minutes. 14 bombs remain.

"Tell me what's happening Jack!" Nick pleaded. He and his wife were still in the apartment watching the crises unfold.

"Gas bombs, very deadly ones," Jack said bluntly. "The team is already moving to take them out. We just directed Camelot to the two on Outback island. I've gotta go." Nick was left with a clearer picture but all that did was worry him more.

Judy's phone started ringing and Judy recognized the number, she put the phone on speaker and answered. The mammal on the other end spoke up before Judy could open her mouth, "I'm coming out of retirement, where's the nearest bomb?"

36 minutes, 13 bombs remain.

Mage was being driven to a bomb in Tundra Town, one of the most isolated of the bunch. MCB agents were also in route, but with the news that the bombs were guarded he was unsure how well that would go. The bomb wasn't terribly far from where his sister's show was being held, and though he didn't know where his family were now, he was determined to keep them safe.

35 minutes. 14 bombs remain.

Spitfire easily disposed of a group of mercenaries guarding her second target. She impatiently waited for the Bella piloted mech to descend with another disarm disk. They couldn't risk a stray assailant damaging the mech with so many bombs across the city, but having to wait for Bella to arrive every time chipped away at the clock.

34 minutes. 13 bombs remain.

Bullet had been driven to the bomb in Savanna Central's train station, the only one in the heart of the city. She'd raced into the large building and began searching when an electric field damper went up.

_They knew we'd come, and we sent the worst mammal to get this bomb._ Over time the foes Team Ceartais faced got wise to which tactic and pieces of equipment were effective against the group. Even though her ability to see with the pulse would be limited, Bullet pressed forward. She could still smell her way around, but that also told her that she wasn't alone. "You can come out, Slipper." Bullet called.

"I always wondered if you could sense me Bullet," a silky smooth voice coed, as a slender lady antelope stepped forward. A master thief with a power that made her immune to most tranquilizers, she brazenly operated during the day most of the time. "Figured you'd send one of the weaker ones here, and all the better if it was you." Bullet charged her opponent, knowing she'd need to brute force this one.

33 minutes, 13 bombs remain.

"Where are all these guards coming from?" Ruby asked aloud as he got an update from Bullet, "For that matter how did you of all mammals get your hands on this chemical?"

"You fool!" TNTiger mocked, "do you not realize how many enemies you've made over the years? I may have united everyone, but this has been a long time coming. You are dealing with more than just the greatest villain!"

"It won't be enough," Ruby stated with confidence.

31 minutes, 13 bombs remain.

The first of two bombs in Sahara Square was located near the massive wind turbines that could simulate desert winds. The obvious intent was to blow the gas far and wide. They were Roar's target and he leapt into the air and came down right in the midst of a group of hidden gun mammals. The massive lion wasted no time sending out his roar to blast half the group and simply beat down the other's. With so much at stack Roar was less concerned then usual with holding back. "First Sahara Square bomb secure, Bella, bring the disk down."

30 minutes, 12 bombs remain.

Spitfire's next bomb was located in a still busy pier area towards the border of Tundra Town and Sahara Square. This meant there was no one there to guard this bomb and Spitfire focused on getting the crowds away while Bella arrived no disable the bomb. Frequently having to slow down was messing with Olvia's focus and she struggled to take deep breaths to calm herself.

29 minutes. 11 bombs remain.

"You should, _cough_, get back out there mon amor," Alice weakly argued.

"Not a chance," Luna countered, her wife's head in her lap, "my job is to make sure you're okay." The two approached the building Luna worked at. A group of mammals who had signed contracts to not unmask any hero under their care would attend to Alice. _Please pull through, Alice, Ryan, everyone._

28 minutes, 11 bombs remain.

"So even the famously acrobatic Bullet can't quite keep up with me? This ego boost has certainly been worth the effort," Slipper teased as she stayed just ahead of her opponent.

"What I can't keep up with is your logic. Why is a thief helping a maniac slaughter millions?" Bullet shouted.

"Tiger can succeed or fail for all I care, what I want is the thrill of the fight," Slipper mocked.

"You're okay with that many deaths?"

"You're trying to appeal to me on a moral ground?" Slipper sounded irritated that the fight had paused.

"No, I'm just distracting you!" Bullet smiled. Slipper barely had time to turn before a sonic shriek slammed into her and flung her against a wall. Bullet's backup was a young lynx dressed in a gold and black dress with puffy upper arms, four fake wings, and a small head piece that resembled a folded wing. She was Sabrina "Esso" Reese, aka Chime of the PMFR unit. Bullet wasted no time getting back on task, "Cuff her then help me find the bomb!"

"Your welcome blind bitch!" Chime called as she secured Slipped to a chair.

"We're in the middle of a...no, your right. Thank you," Bullet conceded.

"Nah, your right, crises first," Chime waved her hand. "I'll go down, you go up!"

27 minutes, 11 bombs remain.

"We just got word from Camelot, they've located the two bombs on Outback island and are engaging the opposition," Skye announced the the assembly guarding TNTiger, Ruby included. They'd moved the mastermind of the attack down the street and away from the burning building.

"Only nine left after they take those ones out, and the bomb teams are still taking out the regular explosives at a good rate," Ruby smirked under his mask at TNTiger, "Your scheme will fail."

"Not yet," TNTiger seethed with more low key venom then he normally displayed.

25 minutes, 11 bombs remain.

A pair of rhino villains, Rough and Rumble, were guarding the bomb at the Rainforest District's largest water plant.

"Who do you think we're gonna get?" Rough asked his brother.

"Don't care, they're alone, we make em bleed," Rumble snorted.

"You boys are awfully loud, I can hear you through the door," a loud feminane voice called. The doors were shoved open and a large hippopotamus was silhouetted in the frame.

"Is that?"

"RUN!" Rumble screamed as the large hero charged the hopeless goons.

24 minutes, 10 bombs remain

Kiara Priderock was on guard duty for a bomb squad in Savanna Central, her partner, a swine named Anders, was keeping track of the time intervals so the team knew when to back off.

"Get away!" She shouted. The group took cover, expecting the moment to pass, but the bomb they'd been working on blew and the group were left with ringing ears.

Kiara recovered first and rallied her squad, "Shake it off, we've got to get to another one! HQ our bomb just blew, where's the next one.

Kiara's situation was happening all over the city as mammals raced to get the ludicrous number of explosives under control.

23 minutes. 10 bombs remaining.

Dawn Bellwether watched the city of Zootopia burn from multiple explosives, despite the efforts of the MCB, most of the half minute interval explosions had still gone off. The small ewe was in her office high above the downtown area, able to do nothing but think.

_That's the downside of being in a world of powered mammals, you can do everything you want behind the scenes and legally, but when the crisis comes all you can do is watch and pray, I wish there was a way I could have more control over all of this but...but sometimes things are simply out of our hands._

22 minutes. 10 bombs remain.

The villain named Leap had been easy to deal with. The high jumping boar's strength was nothing on Spitfire and she secured another bomb sight. But she'd used up nearly half her time securing only half the targets, she was cutting it too close.

21 minutes. 9 bombs remain.

Mage arrived at his destination; an abandoned mansion near the cooling walls on Tundra Town. Like in Sahara Square, the proximity to the climate control was clearly meant to increase the gas' radius. More concerning to the Mage was the sounds of fighting he could hear from the inside. He raced past the parked MCB vehicles and into the open front door. His heart sank at the sigh. Four MCB agents were dead on the floor, while a fifth was being tortured by a familiar duo. Reirei and Goigoi, a jackal assassin duo known for their love of torture and each other.

"Oh come on!" Goigoi moaned, "we were hoping for Alice, instead we get the lamest one!"

"A job a job Goigoi," Reirei sighed. She hurled a grenade way over Mage's head. Mage jumped to the side but the grenade was an EMP. The blast took out Bella's car and most of Mage's tech gadgets, including his HUD mask and wand. "Now let's kill the scrub and get out of here."

No tech, no back up, almost no time. Mage drew a card into each hand and charged his opponents.

20 minutes, 9 bombs remain.

ZNN was doing it's best to keep up with the ongoing crises, and that news was being displayed on TV screens around the art exhibition the Jones were attending. They held hands and silently prayed for Kodi's safety, Clara included.

19 minutes, 9 bombs remain.

Chime ran through the lower levels of the deserted station, checking every room and blasting locked doors down. "Thank hell that Bellwether's law covers property damage during a crisis," she muttered in frustration. As she came to the control room she gasped in surprise. It wasn't the bomb, but the electronic damper. Chime raced past the device, standing between it and the control panels, and blasted the device with a sonic shriek. The sound waves safely pushed the explosion away from her and the controls. "Bullet, the field is down, you should be able to find the bomb now!"

17 minutes, 9 bombs remain.

Roar glared at the mammal guarding the second bomb he was after with complete irritation. Chester Hornsworth was a deer who could generate force fields that burned to touch. Another criminal who operated during the day to avoid Ceartais, Chester had a superiority complex and hated both the poor and predators.

"Yes, just stand there like the uncultured brute that you are. Nothing you can do will penetrate my field and this lovely gas will purge so many unseemly sights from this city," Chester mocked.

The group had held meetings on how to deal with powered mammals they hadn't encountered yet and Roar put one plan into motion. He charged forward and put his hands under the base of the shield. Fighting through the burning pain, Roar lifted the force field off the ground.

"Stop, stop at once you cur!" Chester shouted in panic. With every ounce of strength he had, Roar hurled the sphere into the air. Hornsworth managed to hold the shield all the way up and down, but the resulting bouncing made him too nauseous and he lost concentration. Roar was on the downed deer in an instant and pounded the snob in the face.

"Second bomb's secure, come on in Bella!" Roar sighed. Horrible burn marks were all over his hands and arms

16 minutes, 8 bombs remain.

Mage scurried is the steps of the mansion, both to put some distance between himself and his opponents and to try and find the bomb. He was losing. He beat them in size, strength and reach, but they were faster, had knives and there were two of them. As he reached the top he realized he had an opportunity, he jumped, turned and flung a card at Goigoi. The jackal dodged easily, but his wife had worse visibility and stumbled backwards.

_They can only fight single file on the stairs! _Mage held his position at the top, fending off Goigoi's knife slashes. Whenever he couldn't deflect, he sidestepped. Neither party was able to get an edge: Mage couldn't disarm his nimble foe but Goigoi couldn't land a hit. Still, Mage knew he had only bought some time, Reirei was circling around to another staircase.

_If I get caught between them on the staircase I'm done._ Mage was running out of options, so he settled for a desperation move. Goigoi made another stab forward that Mage dodged, but instead of countering he rushed forward and tackled the jackal right as Reirei reached the top of her stairs. Goigoi was slammed against the stairs as he and Mage tumbled down, with Mage getting one good kick in that sent Goigoi away from the base of the stairs. Mage recovered first, but was still unsteady. He saw Reirei had recovered from the surprise and was fast approaching the top of the stairs. _If I fight her, Goigoi can recover and I'm trapped again. _Mage realized he would never get another chance to take out one of the jackals and turned his back to Reirei. He rushed the still dazed Goigoi as fast as he could, not risking his chance on a bad throw, he shoved the tranq card right into the jackal's face. Goigoi went limp, and Mage tried to roll away, but Reirei's knife caught him in the side anyway.

Mage tumbled away and howled in pain, he flung a handful of taser cards to force Reirei away, but the jackal was now grinning and side stepped his throw, before closing in for the kill once more.

15 minutes, 8 bombs remain.

Spitfire was rushing at this point, she only had 14 minutes to deal with 4 bombs. _Come on you damn rust bucket hurry up! _The next bomb was in a wide open ship deck, and none of Spitfire's scanners detected any guards. _Maybe he just spread himself thin? _"Bella come on in." Spitfire remained alert as Bella approached the area. The mech was just over the water and near the ship when a small explosion was heard. A rocket soared through the air and exploded near Bella's mech, unleashing an EMP that sent the mech tumbling toward the sea.

"NO!" Spitfire shouted as she raced into the air to try and catch the mech. Her hasty reaction left her vulnerable, another rocket went off underneath her and damaged her thrusters. Spitfire was flung into the railings where she became entangled.

"As predictable as ever, I knew setting up in the middle of the seabound bombs would let me catch you at your most vulnerable Spitfire." The voice was blunt, controlled and deeply condescending.

_Not him._ Olivia shuddered inside her mech, desperately trying to get any of her weapons ready. Calmly walking towards her was the assassin known as Scar. A lion with a trademark wound over his eye and a reputation as one of the best in the world. He'd nearly defeated the team in their early days, and had only failed because Alice had intervened.

"I may stick around to finish what I'll start with you," Scar aimed a high power RPG right at the mech's chest and fired. Olivia braced herself for the end, only for a stream of water to smash into the oncoming rocket and detonate it early. Another stream came from behind Scar and blasted him forward. A massive column of water emerged from the sea and engulfed Scar, it smashed him against the huel of the ship several times and he blacked out.

Bella's damaged mech was lifted from the water and placed on deck by Spitfire's savior; Orca of the PMFR, aka Regina Lowell. A young mare with powerful water control abilities and known for her distinct black and white outfit. "Are you okay Spitfire?"

"Forget that, is the pod on that mech's back intact?" When Orca checked and confirmed it was, Spitfire explained, "Those are the disarm disks we're using to take out the bombs, but there's still three more on the coast and…'

"They're secured, Pyre, Wildhorn, Vizor and I took out the guards," Orca explained, "and Chime went to help Bullet."

Spitfire was silent for a moment, then she screamed, "Then why are you talking with me! Get the disks to the bombs! We're running out of time!"

"R-right!" Orca hurried off, leaving Spitfire to lament how she was of no more use to the team now.

14 minutes, 7 bombs remain.

"We've got word from Camelot, both bombs on Outback Island are disabled," Skye announced to her crowd.

"Word from the PMFR, they've secured all the locations on the coast!"

Ruby counted, "That means only two are left." He tried to sound confident, but he noticed he hadn't heard from Bullet or Mage in a while.

12 minutes, 5 bombs remain.

Pyre was still new to the PMFR but she already knew that being called into a combat scenario was atypical for the group, but they were all trained to fight in case they ever needed to. Her attention was drawn to an object approaching the warehouse she was guarding at fast speeds.

Orca sped past Pyre without a word, disabled the bomb and was off again, she was using her powers to propel herself forward faster then she'd ever gone before.

11 minutes, 4 bombs remain.

With the damper down at last, Bullet was able to find the bomb towards the very top of the station. "Area secure, Bella come on in." The mech flew through the front doors and up to Bullet's location. She was handed a disk and disambled the bomb. Both mammal and mech made their way towards the exit, but as Bella descended she was jumped by Slipper. The thief thrust some kind of device into Bella's back and the mech was suddenly overcome with electricity surges. Slipper jumped free and landed safely, but Bella's mech crashed.

"You ruined my challenge, I ruin yours," she smirked at Bullet's horrified expression. One of the antelope's horns had been chipped at the tip by Chime earlier and her smile was laced with venom. "Toddl...OH SHI…" she was cut off by Chime's scream hitting her once again.

"I cuffed her!" I swear I cuffed her," Chime panicked.

"You did," Bullet called, "But she's a master thief, she got out."

Chime looked at Bullet guiltily, "I hope that was the last one."

10 minutes, 3 bombs remain.

Wildhorn was a bit bothered that his girlfriend brushed past him without a word, but Orca was clearly in full concentration mode and nothing would stop her now. Another disk, another bomb down, and she was off to the last one, leaving Wildhorn to attend the group of guards he had bound in his power enhanced root.

9 minutes, 2 bombs remain.

"I wonder how long it will take for you to bleed out?" Reirei teased as she took another mock slash at the barely standing Mage.

"I'm not finished yet," Mage groaned as he tried to get in position for his last gamble.

"Oh but I do need to get Goigoi out of here so I'll need to cut this short," Reirei charged forward. Mage reached for the only tool he had left, his wand, and poked her in the eye. "Gah, little shit!" She swatted the wand to the ground and stomped on it. Mage's trademark tool was snapped in two.

"Should really keep an eye on your surroundings," Mage mocked, then turned and reached for the gun of one of the dead MCB agents.

"No!" Reirei screamed and rushed forward...stepping right onto the pile of taser cards Mage had stealthy dropped on the floor. Reirei let out a silent scream before dropping to the floor, still twitching. Mage walked over and placed a tranq card on her to be sure. Then he looked around, his HUD had come back online near the end of the fight, and it showed the bomb was on the second floor balcony. Mage scooped up the radio from a dead MCB agent and began the painful climb up the stairs.

7 minutes, 2 bombs remain.

Vizor watched as Orca stumbled her way onto dry land, she looked close to collapse. But the mission came first and he grabbed the pod containing the disks out of Orca's hands and ran to disable the last coastal bomb. "Last bomb on the coast disabled!" he reported over his radio. When the wolf leader of the PMFR returned to his teammate she had passed out from exhaustion. He quickly used his x-ray vision to check her vitals and that she was fine, "See Regina, you've always had this in you."

6 minutes, 1 bomb remains.

"Only one left, come on Mage," Ruby pleaded.

"I will not be denied my destiny!" TNTiger bellowed.

"We're trying to figure out what's going on over there," one agent shouted. Unknown to the gathered mammals, the hippo that had taken out the Rainforest District bomb was making her way over to the group, but she kept her distance for now so as to not be a distraction.

"Still no contact from Morson's squad?" Skye asked.

Then a radio crackled, "Can anyone, GAH, here me," a very weak voice called.

"Mage is that you!?" Skye demanded.

"Yeah, Reirei and Goigoi...they had EMP's, there's one of your mammals still alive over here...but we've got a problem. Can you patch the team in?"

"Maid, make it happen!" Skye shouted.

"Done!"

5 minutes, 1 bomb remains.

Mage was barely staying on his feet, he knew if he sat down now he'd pass out.

"Done!" Maid called, "the team can hear you now Mage!"

"Guys I...I beat Goigoi and Reirei but I'm losing a, a lot of blood here and, and this bomb is on a pressure plate, like Pinkerton was." Mage mumbled.

Spitfire responded, "They all were, to make sure we weren't out of the woods if we tried to move them."

"Just use your wand Mage," Ryan called, "It's the only one left and Maid was able to get this thing to tell the gas bombs and the regular ones apart!"

"Reirei, she broke my wand Ruby, I can't disable it."

4 minutes, 1 bomb remains.

Bullet gasped, "But all the Spitfire mechs have been taken out!" She looked over to the still disabled mech carrying the disarm disks. "Is there anything else that can fly?"

Vizor called out, "I have some disks left, but the PMFR chopper is all the way over in the Rainforest District coast."

"Camelot is all the way over in Outback Island," Skye reported.

"Then what can we do?" Ruby called in desperation.

"I'm going to die," Mage said plainly.

3 minutes, 1 bomb remains.

Maid was furiously typing away at her keyboard, trying to hack the control panel of the final bomb, "Don't talk that way Mage, I'm trying to hack it right now, just wait." The desperate tone of her voice made it clear she didn't think she'd make it in time.

"Maid, guys...I'm gonna push this thing off the plate," Mage explained, "the explosion will take the gas out."

"He's correct," TNTiger shouted with glee, "the gas needs to be released properly first, otherwise the explosion will just atomize it like everything else!"

"Shut him up!" Ruby demanded. "Mage don't do this, please just hold on, Maid is gonna solve this just please hang on."

"I'm so sorry...Ry...Ruby."

2 minutes, 1 bomb remains.

Mage wearily prepared for his final effort, "I'm not...going to gamble everyone this gas will fry, just on the, the chance I don't die. I love you guys, all of you, tell Blade Dancer for me when she...wakes, K' Andi?"

"I will," Andraste promised, tears welling in her eyes.

"Anyone, anyone got any miracles?" Mage pleaded.

"I'm sorry Mage," Roar cried.

"Don't be, big guy, or you Spitfire," Mage smiled.

"MAGE!" Spitfire cried on her end.

"Tell Clara I'm sorry, and that I tried to make my family proud." Mage started pushing on the heavy bomb, it took all his remaining strength but it gave way slowly.

1 minute, 1 bomb remains.

"Ruby, Bullet," Mage weezed out his final breaths, "You guys were the best friends a guy could want." It sounded like he was squeezing every last word into his breaths.

"NO NO NO NO NOOOO!" Ruby screamed.

"I'm sorry Ruby, especially about, about...that. Promise me you stop looking for…" The tablet registered the pressure plate had gone off.

0 minutes, no bombs remaining.

The tablet fell to the ground unnoticed as Ruby let out a wordless wail of grief, one that was echoed by his teammates across the city. Hannah slumped into a waiting chair and sobbed as Esso gently rubbed her back. Kion beat a nearby rock structure to oblivion. Luna hugged herself in the waiting room. Olivia was motionless and limp inside her cockpit. Ryan's long wail was punctuated by TNTiger.

"Not quite what I wanted, but one of the stars has fallen!"

Ryan turned and pounced towards the laughing tiger, but the large hippo made her presence known as she grabbed him out of the air and hugged him close. "It's not gonna bring him back little one, I'm so sorry."

'"Let me go! I'm gonna kill him!" Ryan screamed, but the hippo held firm as Skye darted TNTiger to shut him up. Ryan couldn't get free so all he could do was trash and cry, and he was still sobbing as the rest of the city learned that they were saved, and that one of it's greatest heroes had given his life to do it.

AN: You can blame the countdown gimmick for this chapter ballooning out of control, but I stuck with it. What'd you all think? This world's Kodi dies a hero, but we already know that things are going to go downhill fast from here on out. This is also our first extensive look at this crazy world.

Next time: Our heroes learn how powers in this world work, while Ryan shows off just how much control he has.


	18. Chapter 17: Warped Reflections

Hey everyone, so wow, last week's chapter went over really well with people. Guess the extra work paid off since it was a last minute addition. Let's see if I can keep the momentum going. Thank you to everyone who favorited, followed and reviewed this series, and let's get going.****

**Chapter 17: Warped Reflections**

It was a solemn party that arrived at the underground bunker being used as the wanted mammals headquarters. The news that Ryan was the mastermind behind this world's crises and they'd been maybe one distraction away from walking right into his trap was disheartening to say the least. A mammal raised by the same parents as the three Wilde siblings had turned evil, and now one of their friends was under his control. Kodi was especially dour, the shock of Clara attacking him had worn off now that he had a rational if horrific reason as to why, but she was in the enemies hands all the same without any clear method of saving her.

It was for that reason Kodi was at the back of the group, scowling as he racked his brain for anything that might be of use.

Robyn was at least happy they hadn't needed to do much explaining, _Looks like Ryan was telling the truth about this world dealing with this shit all the time, we barely had to say more then we're heroes from other dimensions and they got the gist of it_.

Ronan had reasoned that Ryan was probably responsible for the static blocking Robyn's viewing powers. He had the means and was the only mammal outside the worlds they'd visited who knew where they were. No one disagreed but everyone wondered why.

The local mammals had promised an explanation once they got to their base, but the long run had worn everyone's patience thin.

"So what is this place?" Reginald asked as they neared the door.

"This is a powered mammal resistant bunker Victoria Todd built back when Luna was young in case she needed a place to hide from assassination attempts," Alice listed off.

"Thankfully the only mammal who really knows about it these days is Olivia," Hannah added.

"She's your tech support right?" Robyn reasoned.

"Not exactly," Alice morously replied. Right as she finished punching in the password she turned back to the group, "Kodi, you should wait by the entrance for a few minutes after we get in."

"Okay but why?" Kodi asked in irritation.

"Our aforementioned guest is the Clara Bloom of our world," Alice answered.

"Uh, thanks for the heads up but I can handle it," Kodi replied.

"It's not like we aren't sorta used to it by this point," Robyn added.

"Good to hear," Alice said as she pushed the door open, "but I meant that she was our Kodi's fiance." That got some understanding looks from the guests.

"And now she's about to meet her dead boyfriend from another dimension," Ronan stated.

Kodi nodded in understanding, "Right, I'll wait by the door." That promise proved easy to keep as the door led to a small staircase leading down. Kodi waited on the stairs as the rest of the group hurried past him.

After a few seconds of silence a familiar voice was heard, "Oh thank goodness you made it back, Bella lost contact and...what happened to her!" Clara changed the subject mid sentence.

"She was being caught by big explosion during the battle," Rani replied.

"Then why are you just standing ther...and you're already walking past me, hey wait up!" Clara's flustered ramblings would've been funny to Kodi if not for the dire situation of her counterpart.

The others also hurried away and Kodi felt safe to walk in a little further. The initial room of the bunker was clearly designed with defense in mind. It was long and fairly narrow, had numerous small walls along the side gun mammals or powered mammals could hide behind, and had another armored door at the back, which was currently still open. Kodi activated his HUD and saw that there were also several automated turrets, both lethal and non-lethal, hidden at various points throughout the room, as well as traps hidden in the floor tiles. None of them were activated right now, but Kodi still took care to avoid them. He pushed his view of the bunker out more and saw that it was a six room complex. There was a mostly barren common area that served as an additional line of defense, and led to four unique rooms. A lab, a kitchen, a living room with proper bedding set up, and a medical wing where the others probably were. Finally there was a large storage room connected to the lab and kitchen.

Kodi let himself get caught up in observing the technical aspects of the bunker because it gave him something else to focus on. He was so caught up that it took him longer than it should have to hear the sound of approaching footsteps. Kodi turned to face the doorway just as a familiar golden furred wolf appeared in it's frame. The local version of Clara Bloom locked eyes with Kodi and started walking towards him, as if in a daze. Then her paw suddenly whipped through the air and slapped Kodi in the cheek.

"You bastard!" she screamed as she charged forward. Kodi was caught off guard and was tackled to the floor. Kodi flew back and up to the thankfully high ceiling while sending his binding scarf to ensnare the wolf's hands. She was clearly in hysterics and Kodi didn't want her to do anything she'd regret.

"Clara stop!" Hannah shouted as she and Rani entered the room, the larger lioness ran forward and wrapped her arms around the wolf; preventing her from moving very much.

"You die on me not a week after you...you...you're, you're flying," Clara seemed to regain her senses thanks to the bizarre sight. The wolf started crying even harder and buried her head in Rani's arms, the lioness gently petting Clara to calm her down.

Kodi floated back down to the floor and was about to speak up, but Hannah beat him to it, "You can fly?"

Kodi realized he hadn't shown that power off during the earlier battle, "Yeah, part of my magic training was learning how to fly."

"Oh god you even sound just like him," Clara moaned.

"Magic," Alice muttered from the doorway, "the wonders of the multiverse."

"More like horrors," Robyn argued from behind her, "the world he learned magic in was just all craziness all the time, it was too much."

"Will she be okay?" Kodi asked.

"I'll be fine," Clara muttered, "you can let go now Rani." The lioness complied and Kodi had his scarfe return to him. "I'm so sorry, that wasn't fair but I have a lot of, a lot of messed up feelings where my Kodi was concerned." Clara fished into her pocket and pulled out a little black box. The visiting mammals realized what it was just as Clara opened it to reveal a ring inside,"He was my…"

Kodi put a gentle hand on Clara's shoulder, "It's okay. Now, we're at your bunker and Fuli's getting medical attention, I want answers," Kodi demanded.

"You girls can explain, if you don't mind I'm going to go wait in the living room," Clara said as she walked off, "I'm sorry but I can't be there when you explain..."

"Alright, we'll catch you guys up in the medical wing," Hannah said as she led the group further into the bunker, "that way we can keep an eye on Fuli."

As Kodi followed he asked his teammate, "So what's the deal with their Olivia?"

Robyn shook her head, "Trust me, it's easier if you just see it."

000

A wolf awoke in a sterile white room and quickly looked around. There was a simple metal bed, an empty rectangular table and nothing else. Clara Bloom sat up, she felt woozy and had to steady herself for a moment before she could take in her surroundings.

_Where am I? _Clara struggled to remember the battle she'd been caught up in. Robyn, Reginald, Ronan, Fuli, Kodi and herself had wound up in another dimension very suddenly, and in the middle of a battle no less. _What happened?_ Clara remembered a call of alarm and then…

_The table._

Clara looked over at the sole other piece of furniture in her room and saw that it had several items on it. A bottle of water and a cup, her meds and some pajamas with her mask on top of them. Clara got herself to her feet and made her way to her mask as rapidly as she could manage. _I have to get out of here and find the others._

_Stay._

Clara's mask stopped an inch from her face. _Whoever brought me here, they have to know I have powers, but they leave me here unrestrained. _Clara began to suspect that her hosts were probably not hostile at least.

_Safe._

_It should be okay to stay here for at least a little bit, I do still feel like dirt anyway. _Clara took a sip from her water bottle and made her way back to the bed. She'd been placed on top of the sheets, probably since her uniform's spikes could puncture the bedding material. _Wish I had some…_

_Get changed._

Clara looked back at the table, the pajamas would be more comfortable. She looked over to the door and walked over to it instead. Clara turned the door handle and found it was unlocked, and a quick search revealed no locking mechanism. "Really wish I could make sure no one barged in on me," Clara muttered as she walked back to the table.

_Use the curtains._

Suddenly Clara blinked and felt another slight ache in her head. After a quick blink and grimace she turned and saw a curtain covering part of the wall in the corner. _How did I miss that_? Clara wondered as she grabbed the clothes and went over. Beyond the curtain was a simple bathroom setup, but what mattered was the privacy it offered. Clara took a quick shower and got changed, before heading back out and laying on the bed. Thoughts of the previous few days of dimension hopping flew through Clara's mind, then the past month of starting out as a hero, her thoughts slowed down as she thought of her time on the Cauldron.

_Sleep_.

With her first meeting with Kodi the last thing hazily passing through her mind, Clara fell asleep.

000

"Hello Kodi, despite the circumstances of you not being the same mammal, it is good to see you again," Olivia's voice lacked her usual accent, but that wasn't the main thing that grabbed Kodi's attention. The mouse almost looked more like a machine than a mammal. When he first approached her, Kodi had seen the metallic bits glowing through her shirt along her spine, and with her now facing him he could see the metallic glint in one of her eyes.

"Olivia...what happened to you?" Kodi stammered.

"Miss Gusteau sustained much damage to her body during her career as Spitfire, this is a dangerous world to be a hero in," Olivia replied.

"And that damage made you talk in the third person?" Kodi asked.

"I am not Miss Gusteau, I am using her body while I am trapped in it," the being who was not Olivia stated, confusing Kodi to no end in the process. "Perhaps the circumstances were different in your world, but in this dimension you were the one who named me."

A few seconds pause and then, "Bella?" Kodi gasped. At the mouse's affirmative nod Kodi flailed his arms around "How is...but you're in, what!?"

"Ryan knew that Miss Gusteau and I stood the best chance of stopping his takeover while it was still in its infancy, so he targeted us first. He unleashed a virus intended to override me while injecting Miss Gusteau with his new steel blood serum when she was plugged in," at the numerous questioning looks Bela pulled out a USB head from her metal leg. "Thankfully, I am capable of thoughts and actions many thousands of times faster than a living mind, while I am usually limited by physics in the real world, in the datascape I can operate freely. I separated myself from all of my functions throughout the city, sabotaging as many as I could in the process, while my consciousness escaped into Miss Gusteau's mechanical interface."

"Woah," Reginald gasped. He and the others had only gotten the short version earlier.

"Bella trashing a lot of the systems Ryan was hoping to take over and escaping herself really gave the rest of us that got away the chance to regroup," Hannah smiled at the semi-mechanical mouse.

"But I was too late to protect Miss Gusteau," Bella expressed a bit of sadness with that statement, and the visiting mammals realized she probably wasn;t used to having the full vocal range of a living mammal. "The steel blood had already overtaken her by the time I overrode it, and the shock of having her mind taken over twice in such a short time...I fear Miss Gusteau could be brain dead. Every attempt I've made to cead control of this body back to it's rightful owner has been met with failure, she simply will not stir."

"Do not give up hope for our friend though," Alice spoke up, "the resources we have in this bunker are limited, it's possible the means of reviving Olivia are simply unavailable to us right now." Despite the hopeful sentiment, it was obvious Alice was trying to reassure herself as much as anyone else.

"I can continue to answer questions, but it will have to be with my back turned," Bella called attention back to herself, "I need to monitor Miss Duma's treatment going forward." The cheetah in question was lying on an operating table a few meters away from the group, Ronan dutifully stood by her side.

"She'll be okay?" Kodi asked. Ronan looked solom but he wasn't outright despairing and that was a good sign.

"The odds are in her favor," Bella replied as she stepped up to a panel and used the USB head to plug herself in to the bunker's mainframe. "The shrapnel missed anything vital and the rest has been removed via surgery." Kodi observed a monitor displaying lasers making small insertions in Fuli's skin and small machine arms carefully removing the invasive metal. "However this bunker is lacking in disinfectants that we would need; some of the metal sent flying by the gas station explosion was rusted and infections, so we've had to take more unique measures."

"She means we're giving Fuli an injection of floridium," Hannah cut in, "it's the stuff that's responsible for powered mammals existing in our world."

"A chemical that causes powered mammals?" Kodi asked, noting the differences to how it had worked with Doctor Doom's dimensional rifts.

"Yes, floridium is named for the state of Florida, and it's actually a good place to start our overdue explanation," Hannah explained.

In short order the guest mammals were sitting in chairs near Fuli's operating table so Ronan could stay next to his girlfriend. The three local mammals sat opposite them and Bella was still at her station. Alice was the one to start the story. "Our world was forever changed by the introduction of powered mammals, and they stemmed from exposure to floridium, which itself was introduced to the biosphere in 1978 during the Florida incident. No one is exactly sure what happened since the lab where floridium was invented was destroyed in the process, but a massive explosion released the complete supply of the chemical into the atmosphere and it quickly spread all over the world." Bella had one of the monitors display old news footage of a colossal explosion in a somewhat forested area.

"That big a supply released all at once would have affected more than just the mammals," Ronan muttered, the implications of such an event were staggering.

"And it did," Alice confirmed, "I was nearly eaten by a carnivorous sunflower back when I was still an assassin, but if we go over every detail we will be here through the night."

"What matters is that exposure to floridium in a large enough dose grants a mammal powers," Hannah picked up Alice's thread, "and it temporarily boasts their immune system during the transition period." She nodded at Fuli.

"It is called the superpower lottery into this day," Rani said, "not all mammals are being winners when with floridium."

"Clara can breath underwater," Alice resumed, "and honestly a majority of powers are like hers: strictly useful but nothing life changing. But mammals who _did _win big quickly started making an impression all over the world." The screen scrolled through images of various events; a weasel running away from a massive cloud of smoke, a mouse standing atop a rooftop, and a hyena in a mix of black tactical gear and a sneaking suit standing with some MCB members. "Powered criminals, vigilantes and government agents have been a thing since the beginning, and they've never really stopped, but the game changers were the Mad Mammals Circus." The screen stopped on an old group shot of several mammals standing in front of a big top circus tent. Four of the mammals were in costumes; a lion, a giraffe, a zebra and a large female hippopotamus front and center.

"I was inspired by them!" Rani chimed in brightly.

"You weren't the only one," Hannah smiled, "The Mad Mammals Circus was the original superhero team, they showed up all over the States for almost two decades helping anyone in need. They proved that a group of powered mammals could work together even if they weren't equal in power."

"I'm guessing the hippo is the ringleader?" Reginald asked, eyes wide at the colors of the spandex looking outfits of the Mad Mammals. _And I thought Ceartais was brightly dressed, these guys are downright gaudy. _

"That, my dear Banshee, is Gloria Hippowdon; Miss Fantabulous...yes really," Alice added the last bit upon seeing the others raised highbrows.

"Miss Fantabulous, what kind of powers was she rocking to get away with dressing like that!" Robyn asked as she pointed to the hippo in question. She was wearing a bright pink full bodysuit with magenta elbow length gloves, knee length boots, a simple belt and a domino mask. There was a stylized MF on her chest in the same magenta.

"Super strength greater than Roar's, they arm wrestled once, and she can take it as hard as she dishes it out," Hannah explained, "other than that it's just skill and a whole lot of guts."

"But anyway, she and her team were the ones who brought hero teams into the spotlight and made them sort of acceptable to the world's governments. For a while anyway," the smile she'd been wearing slipped off of Alice's face.

"Let me guess," Ronan spoke up, "the lack of organization in all of these heroes and the lack of accountability for their actions eventually caught up with them when something so bad it couldn't be swept under the rug by the excuse of saving lives happened, probably let all the things that were being kept in check burst free all at once too."

The native heroes looked impressed, "The good sergeant gets it in one," Alice noted. "It started with the Mad Mammal Circus, and they were where it all went wrong. In 1999 the giraffe member of their team, Melman Girafarig was killed in action by General Bombardier; a powered mammal who could create explosives. Miss Fantabulous did not take that well. In the resulting battle she caused a lot of unnecessary collateral damage and her teammates barely held her back from murdering the bastard."

"That, that would do it," Robyn muttered. _It was bad enough when I lost my temper or went savage, what would a hippo be like? _Her question was answered when the screen shifted to a scene of a devastated city block. In the distance a large mammal could be seen leaping into the air.

"The next bit is a lot of legal jargon so to sum it up: for the first decade of the new millennium saw the public and the government increasingly turn against powered mammals, even the ones who were just civilians, even as the percent population of them kept growing," Alice summarized, "and one mammal in particular had the hatred and the means to do something about it."

Hannah addressed the Wilde siblings, "This is where your parents come in."

"Geez," Reginald groaned, "Mom had it hard enough in our worlds, imagine how hard it was being the first bunny cop in a world of superheroes."

"I'm sorry, a cop?" Hannah asked with a slack jaw.

"Yeah, first bunny police officer, solved the missing mammals case of 2016, first bunny police chief, deputized Team Ceartais after the wave…" Ronan rambled off his mother's achievements.

Reginald interrupted him, "Okay Mama's boy they got the point."

"The multiverse is having craziness, a cop pioneer in one world is being a politician in ours," Rani explained in a chipper tone, she was enjoying the strangeness of the situation.

"Why is everyone I know a politician in other worlds?" Reginald threw his hands up.

"Well yes," Hannah composed herself, "Miss Wilde, Miss Bellwether and Mr. Wilde were the ones who foiled Mayor Lionheart's anti powered mammals scheme."

"Bellwether?" Ronan gaped, "Dawn Bellwether?"

"Yes," Hannah answered with a head tilt.

"She's...you know what? Nevermind. It's not important," Robyn wisely cut off the group's reactions before they opened that can of worms.

_Thank you Robyn_, Kodi thought, _this world's a mess and they haven't even gotten to Ceartais yet._

000

_Wake up._

Clara awoke to the sound of knocking on her door, "Hello, are you uh, presentable, in there?" a somewhat nervous voice called.

It took Clara a moment to regain her senses. She was still in the makeshift hospital bedroom and wearing the clothes she'd been provided. "Uh, give me a minute, I'm getting changed!" She quickly grabbed her hero gear from the table and hid behind the curtain. Clara wasn't used to being this flustered, but she was in a completely new world and all on her own. She wasn't really sure why she hadn't just phased through the walls and out of the building.

"Take your time goldie, it's no rush," a much louder and obviously female voice called from behind the door.

A minute or so later Clara's hasty suit up was complete and she stood at the ready, the position she was in would let her blast anyone who came in the door before they saw her, "Okay I'm ready!"

The two mammals who entered could not have been more different unless one sprouted gills. The smaller was a hybrid, and Clara knew the odds were good this was Robyn's counterpart from this world, which due to not looking like any she'd met so far meant he was probably Ryan. She didn't expand on that realization because of hippo that followed Ryan into the room, the same hippo her teammates were being shown in their bunker; Gloria Hippowdon aka Miss Fantabulous. The now much older hero was still dressed in her garish bright pink costume. It was the latter who directly addressed the stunned wolf, "Hey darlin, good to see you back on your feet, you took a nasty spill back there."

Clara didn't respond right away, still taking in the larger than life hippo. This left Ryan the time to chuckle, "Don't worry Clara, Miss Fantabulous here may be loud but she's harmless unless you're a criminal."

"How do you know my name?" Clara demanded, "and where are my friends, Ryan?"

Ryan nodded, the tuff atop his head swaying with each moment, "Yes, my name is Ryan Wilde, and to answer your questions: I am the same Ryan you've been seeing in Robyn's mirrors, I know your name because I know the you from this world, your friends are fine and are currently dealing with the latest problem in this city, and the static blocking Robyn's powers is still in effect."

Ryan's easy smile was eerily similar to Kodi's, but it seemed off to Clara, _It feels so...forced? Maybe the situation is worse than he's letting on?_ "Can I see them?"

"Follow me my dear, I'll explain what's going on," Ryan beckoned Clara out of the room.

"Abridge some of it Wilde, girl wants to get to the point," Gloria said as she followed Ryan out.

_Follow._

Clara went after the two to get her answers, and before long she was caught up to where her friends were, "Lionheart did what?"

"Started using nighthowler to target powered mammals and turn the public against them to the point he could take more drastic measures," Gloria said with disdain.

"It's a sad story really, the lion had his father killed by a powered criminal and he started seeing all the negatives," Ryan filled in the blanks, "not that I feel sorry for him. What matters is that those events brought the parents of Ceartais together. Mom's a powered mammals rights politician and she teamed up with future Mayor Dawn Bellwether to form a platform. Dad was an activist who met Mom at a Lionheart protest led by Gazelle…"

"Are you okay?" Clara asked at Ryan's sudden trial off.

"Im fine it's...nothing," Ryan shook his head, "Anyway, Gazelle married Wade Jones at that time. Dad and Mom put together some leads they'd figured out, and they brought that to detective Dawson and his escort, Officer Priderock. Dad had an old friend in the MCB who slipped them the missing pieces and it all fell into place, even if Hannah's Mom almost ruined it for them."

"Skye was with Lionheart?" Clara gasped.

"She was with the law, but she was never fond of powered mammals running free and all the problems that came with them," Ryan explained, "she ate a big slice of humble pie when she found out she'd been defending a monster, or a least that's how Mr. Savage tells it."

"What matters is that the mammals were saved, that jackass lion was imprisoned and the public cooled down on powered mammals, but only after Mayor Bellwether made superheroes illegal in Zootopia, and a lot of the world followed suit," Gloria summed up.

Clara put the pieces together, "They were playing the long game, make the public miss the good while they worked out some issues behind the scenes?"

"Just as bright as our Clara, yes, though they wound up bringing heroes back sooner than expected," Ryan answered.

"And you're to blame for that you little trouble maker," Gloria teased.

"Ceartais became the heroes of Zootopia after the wave and Chief, er uh, Mrs. Wilde deputized them, making government back hero teams the new model?" Clara was actually smiling as she put the pieces together.

"They were a sight to behold," Gloria sighed, "Ruby Rose, the Mage and Bullet were like seeing the old days come back, Roar, Spitfire, Andraste and Blade Dancer came afterwards. I still remember seeing the broadcast where Mayor Bellwether officially deputized them on national TV."

"Wait, you three started it? Where were the M.M. Gang?" Clara asked.

"Those jokers?" Gloria laughed, "they weren't bad but they were scrubs next to powered agents. Oh we're here." Ryan pushed a button on the wall and an elevator door opened. The three stepped inside.

"This will take us to the command room," Ryan announced, "and to answer your question, Robin Wilde and Little John were caught by a powered agent in New York, some hyena who could crawl on walls and shoot sticky webbing. We didn't find out till years later that Nana was their missing third member, and that was when Mom asked her to sign up as the team's tech support, speaking of which." Ryan waved his hand at the door just as it opened.

Clara stepped out to a decent sized room where several mammals were at computer screens. There was a large map of Zootopia on a central screen and a window wall in the back gave them a view of a large field below. Clara figured it was used for larger tests since this was clearly a lab. Marian Wilde stood front and center, overseeing any and all operations. She turned to the approaching mammals and offered Clara a handshake, "Nice to see you up and running Miss Bloom, welcome to the control center."

"Thank you Mrs. Wilde, but I'd like to know where my friends are and what's going on here."

"What's going on is this," Ryan walked up to the central platform, "someone is using a modified version of Project Steel Blood to take over the minds of various mammals throughout the city."

"Mind control!?" Clara gasped, "that's why they were fighting back in Sahara Square!"

"It's true, once the nanomachines enter the body there's nothing you can do," Ryan conformed, "even a mammal as strong as Gloria was helpless against it."

"It's true," Gloria said plainly.

"It's that powerful!? But how did, how do we, is Kodi…" Clara stammered. _Even Doom wasn't that powerful._ The implications were staggering. Clara, who had faced Doctor Doom down in his own ship, was scared.

"Yes, quite the achievement in nanotechnology wouldn't you say?" Ryan asked with a calm smile that was creeping Clara out. "It can mess with your perception, make you think things aren't there, make you do things you wouldn't normally do, and all subconsciously so you don't _realize _it." Ryan empathized the word very clearly.

Suddenly, Clara's mind was overloaded with new information. _The table and curtain were there the whole time! I should've bolted the moment I woke up! I...he did this! _Clara went to blast Ryan with energy but her arms wouldn't respond. "What?" She gasped as her body didn't respond to her. Ryan's face twisted into a light smirk.

"And she figured it out," Marian frowned, "was all this necessary?"

"No, this was cruel, even by your standards Ryan," Gloria glared. "I'm sorry Miss Bloom, he's telling the truth, there's nothing we can do, believe me I've tried." The formerly proud and boisterous hippo looked truly defeated.

_This can't be happening! _Clara was past panicking and was simply fidgeting in place. She watched the grin slip off Ryan's face, replaced by an unsatisfied frown.

"Damn it, it's just not the same," Ryan muttered, "Sorry Sirius, this was a complete waste of time. I have...reasons to be mad at my Clara Bloom, but she already knows about my steel blood and there's only so far it can warp a mind, so I thought to use you to recreate the experience but it's just not the same."

"A waste of time! That's what you're sorry for?" Clara finally was able to settle on an emotion and it was fury.

"I could've rewritten you without you feeling a thing but I wasted time on this elaborate freak out," Ryan sighed, "I guess after meeting Robyn I just figured another world version of a mammal could substitute for anyone, definitely not true."

"Why are you doing all of this!?" Clara swept her arms out across the room.

Ryan thought for a moment, "As my apology I'll explain what happened while you're still the original you."

Across the city that didn't know of the takeover that was happening, two separate groups were told the story of TNTiger's attack on the city. The day the first modern superhero team fell apart.

In the bunker the visiting mammals watched the sadness and grief on their host's faces as they had to trade off storytelling duties towards the end of the sad tale. Gloria stepped in for Ryan and Marian at a few points as well. All of the visitors were pained to hear of Kodi's sacrifice, and it was clear that the events had ripped the team apart. Robyn and Kodi had flashbacks to their Marian and Robin's deaths during the snow day attacks.

"I...require a tissue," Bella called, light tears fell down the mouse's cheeks in thin lines.

"Ryan was never the same after Kodi died," Hannah tearfully recounted while Rani secured Bella a tissue. "He stopped smiling, left the team, started blaming everyone for this until he eventually just locked himself away for a while with his experiments. The next time we saw him he was trying to take over the city.

"I stepped in to cover for Ceartais after that tragedy," Gloria recalled those sad days, "I tried to comfort this little devil, really I did, I knew exactly what he was going through. Suspect that's why he let me keep as much of my mind as he has."

Clara was distracted from her current situation as she tried to process all the new info she'd been given. "Ryan," she called gently, "I can't imagine what you or your team went through, but I still don't see how this leads to...all of this," she waved at the control room.

"My team," Ryan seethed "If it wasn't for them Kodi would still be alive!"

"What!?" Clara gasped.

"So many ways Kodi could've lived, if Olivia hadn't been so reckless, if Alice had dodged just a bit earlier, if Luna had just left her at the hospital and joined the fight, if Hannah and Esso had chained that bitch Slipper properly! But no! None of that happened! And Kodi's dead for it! And Kion, Kion had the gall to say we were all suffering equally!? I lost my best friend in the world because my so called teammates screwed him over!"

"That isn't fair and you know it Wilde!" Gloria stepped forward.

"Go back to being a drone Gloria!" Ryan snapped. Instantly the fire faded from Gloria's eyes and she stood at rigid attention; blank faced and still.

Ryan turned back to the horrified Clara, "I realized that if I had been in control of everything from the start this wouldn't have happened, same with who knows how many other tragedies. So I found a way to give myself that control, so that nothing like this ever has to happen again." At Clara's speechless face, Ryan sighed, "You don't understand, not that I blame you. I'm sorry once again for my earlier stunt. I promise that the next time you awaken you will be working for me willingly." Ryan stood straight as he addressed Clara before she could form a response. "Be a drone Clara."

AN: Our heroes, and all of you, get a good look at just how dire the situation in this world is, the question becomes how will they get out of it?

Next Time: The counterattack begins as soon as our heroes find a way to start it, Ryan faces some harsh realities and Kodi steps up to the plate.


	19. Chapter 18: Team Leader

So I hope all of my readers are doing okay during these frankly difficult times, I had to take an unplanned week delay in updating this story, and there may be more coming. I don't know. But for now we do have another chapter. Thank you so much to everyone who followed, favorited and reviewed the story, now let's get going/

**Chapter 18: Team Leader**

The desert is a tricky environment, even in the relatively controlled context of Zootopia. A location that is blistering hot in the day is chilling cold in the night. It was for that reason that the desert regions of Zootopia were often sparsely populated after the sunset, and that was why Kodi Jones had gone there for some privacy. Even though he was on his fourth alternate world it was still bizarre hearing about _his_ death. The local mammals were understandably drained from recounting the night of TNTiger's attack and had skimmed through the aftermath. The various mammals who helped in the attack were under arrest for terrorism and a massive funeral was held for one of Team Ceartais' founders.

_Honestly? I was done with that story too, can't imagine how Mom, Dad and Sasha are dealing with this._ Kodi sighed, _This city's a mess. _

_Don't sugarcoat things_, Kiara's advice echoed in Kodi's head.

_No, it's a crisis and most mammals don't even know it! One mad and grieving mammal has control over who knows how much of the city, there's a total of ten mammals left to resist and we don't even have the element of surprise this time. Ryan's probably already picked Clara's mind clean for information about us. We've got no cure, no plan, no way to get back up, we…_

"Kodi?" A voice called from behind. Kodi has shrunk the portal he'd used but kept it open so the others could figure out where he was. A quick twist of the wrist and the portal widened, allowing Robyn to step through. "What are you doing out here?"

"Just thinking really, needed some fresh air after...that," Kodi responded without facing his friend.

"Yeah I get that," Robyn agreed, "but there's some good news; Fuli is gonna be okay."

Kodi nodded, "I'm sure Ronan is relieved."

"He is," Robyn confirmed as she stepped up to Kodi's side, "but we're still pretty far up shit creek."

"You can say that again, I'm as lost as they are," Kodi admitted. "Even my magic can't protect me from Ryan's steelblood."

"And if he gets you it's all over," Robyn stated.

"And I didn't see any of our hosts suggesting any new plans since we showed up," Kodi concluded.

"Funny you mention that," Robyn said, "I found out something interesting when I was talking with this Hannah."

"And that is?"

"Their Ceartais doesn't have a dedicated leader like ours and Ronan's do. They did stuff based on group votes," Robyn shrugged, "kinda makes sense they haven't had much luck on their own; over half their team is gone."

"So they don't have a leader," Kodi realized.

"Yup, and our leaders are either hunkered over their girlfriend, got left behind in Reginald's world...or are running off to think in the desert."

_She's talking about…_, "Well, looks like only one of those is easily fixed," Kodi admitted.

"You've got my vote," Robyn said calmly.

_I certainly wouldn't vote for you now. _"What changed?"

"Circumstances," Robyn shrugged.

"You know what I'm…" Kodi turned to face Robyn.

"You wouldn't be my first choice to lead the team," Robyn interrupted, "that's still Luna, but she's not here and you _are _who the team voted in."

Kodi though, _she voted for me at first, but I lost that._

_Failure is the greatest teacher if you're willing to learn from it,_ this time it was Victoria's words that Kodi remembered. He drew himself up straight and looked back out at the cityscape. "Well, as far as I can see there are three main problems we have to deal with; Ryan himself, his steelblood and the powered mammals under its control."

Robyn nodded, "Our hosts were trying to sneak their way to Ryan's new base earlier, but they got caught way before they reached it."

"Going straight for Ryan is out of the question," Kodi realized, "he's got too much power over too much of the city."

"And we've got no hope of overpowering every mammal under his control with our numbers," Robyn huffed.

"So that leaves dealing with the steelblood itself, finding a cure I mean," Kodi said.

Robyn sighed, "It's not even brainwashing like with the Drowned, he's basically turned these mammals into part machines and then hijacked them!" Robyn paused in contemplation, "Do you think we could hack them back?"

"My wand doesn't work on steelblood, remember Marian and Olivia testing that back when we started out? And trying to go for Ryan's base just presents the same problems as going for him."

"Damn it!" Robyn screamed, "It can't end like this, us being here has to change something."

The desperation faded into silence as neither of the two came up with anything more to say. _Robyn, honestly might not get a better time_. "Robyn, I know this isn't the best time but I don't like our odds, can we...try and clear the air?"

Robyn looked at him aghast for a few moments, but reconsidered her retort and turned away, "Yeah, try, I'd like to get at least a little closure in case things go south."

_Okay, got the chance, need to pick the words carefully here_. "Back in the garage, if I had admitted...that is to say, if I hadn't been so stubborn about Alice being safe when we set our trap, how would things have gone different?" _Damn it Jones! This is no time to stumble over words. _

Robyn looked surprised by the opening question but answered promptly, "To be honest Kodi, I don't think things would've gone that much better. Talking with my brothers…" Robyn looked up at the stars and smiled, "and there's a sentence I never thought I'd get to say. Talking with them after I beat Reginald, they realized that they were feeding into the misery the world dealt them...and I'm no different." The fiery hybrid deflated and her posture slackened, "Everything I held against you and the others, I still stand by it, but the way I was, I probably would've found a way to stay mad even if all of you apologized for all of it."

"Why?" Kodi asked, having not expected this from Robyn.

"Because it's easier to hold onto anger then to start trusting," Robyn sighed, "no matter how righteous that anger is. Ronan stayed mad because he felt obligated, Reginald because he never got any resolution, and me because...because I'm scared of trusting you guys again."

"Robyn," Kodi had not expected her to be the one getting introspective.

Robyn's face hardened, "Don't get any ideas, I'm still furious about this whole mess, why'd you ask that question anyway?"

"Just trying to get a gauge," Kodi sighed, "cause I'm done making excuses. And before you say that me losing to Slash has nothing to do with it, you're right, but it put things in perspective for me."

"And what would that be?" Robyn asked with curiosity.

"I was...I am afraid of failing, I put so much effort into trying to be better and still screwing up after all of that?" Kodi shook his head, "I just wanted one thing about what we did to be okay but, but there's really nothing to defend." Kodi turned to face Robyn and knelt down so they were on eye level. "Robyn, we got results, but we did it in just about the most unnecessarily risky way we could've, while going being our friend's and teammate's backs and we treated them, treated you like crap afterwards. I'm sorry, for all of…" Kodi's apology was cut off when Robyn threw her arms around him in a tight hug, a little too tight. "Crushing me!" Kodi weezed.

""Still mad," Robyn barbed, but her grip did loosen to comfortable levels. Kodi returned the hug and the two old friends held each other close. The wounds hadn't healed, but the gap had been bridged and, for two mammals worried that may never have happened, it was enough for now. The two eventually sat down at each other's sides and enjoyed the view of Zootopia at night.

"Hard to believe it's only been a little over a month since this whole mess started," Kodi sighed, "It's felt like forever."

"Time flies when you're having a good time, I guess the opposite is also true," Robyn agreed.

"It's felt overwhelming at times."

"We're just normal mammals underneath all the powers Kodi," Robyn remarked. "I can jump high, hit hard, heal from anything and push anything outta my body that shouldn't be there, but I'm just a funny box underneath all that. And you can fly, open portals, do any number of magic tricks and hack all sorts of tech but you're...are you okay?" Robyn paused her speech when she saw Kodi looking slack jawed out in the distance.

"That's it," Kodi mumbled.

"What?"

"I know how we can fight back!" Kodi cheered as he suddenly stood up.

"Wait really!?" Robyn followed his lead. Kodi re-enlarged his portal and raced back towards the others. "Hey wait up, what's this plan of your's?" Robyn called after the grinning wolf. A brief explanation and a moment to process later had Robyn grinning too.

000

"So Kodi's the biggest problem?" Luna asked for confirmation.

"He is," Clara responded, "flight, portals, who knows how many magic tricks." The two heroines were seated at a conference table across from Kion. Ryan sat at the head of the table and Vizor of the PMFR rounded out the meeting.

"Kodi," Kion sighed, "the multiverse has a twisted sense of humor."

"You're certain the other mammals to arrive with you offer no significant threat," Vizor asked. The wolf's real name was Bruno Akaku; lacking the flashy powers of many of his fellow heroes, the gray wolf relied heavily on combat pragmatism. He did not want to underestimate their opponents.

"They aren't harmless," Clara clarified, "but strong healers are something we can handle easily enough."

"What are they like?" Luna asked softly. It was plain as day that Luna wanted to know more about her cross dimensional siblings. Ryan also paid a bit more attention; the hybrid had been typing away at a tablet for most of the meeting.

Clara smiled lightly and decided to give some added detail, "Well I know Robyn the best. She's fiery, has a bit of a temper, but she cares a lot about her friends and family and is the most heroic mammal on the team. Unless she's really emotionally compromised you'd never catch her doing anything morally questionable." Clara's smile faded as she reflected on the emotionally compromised state Robyn had been in mere days ago. "Anyway she's very acrobatic when fighting, and takes advantage of the jumping as often as the strength."

"An anime ninja, just like I thought," Ryan snarked. Silence followed that and Ryan groaned. _Programming my drones to give me undivided attention whenever I speak might not have been the best idea. _"And, what about the others?"

Clara resumed her explanation, "Ah, yes. I don't know Ronan or Reginald as well of course, but Ronan's very dry and polite, he wanted to be a cop like his parents before he became Sergeant Red, he mostly fights with a tranq pistol like Bullet. I got the sense that he likes holding back as much as possible. Reginald, he's a brute, all force and no strategy. He feels like a ball of unresolved anger issues."

"I see," Vizor nodded, "while I agree we shouldn't underestimate them, they all seem to be manageable enough."

A notice went off on Ryan's tablet, "Ah, my guests have arrived." As he stood up from the table he looked back at the assembled mammals, "Continue without me," he waved his hand. As he reached the door to step out he paused and looked back, "On second thought, all of you can be drones for now." The four mammals instantly stood up with blank expressions on their faces, Ryan left them that way as he headed to the main lobby.

The building he'd taken over as his new headquarters was the Zootopia Powered Mammals Research Laboratory, or of PMR Labs for short. It was a massive circular building with a wide open test field in the middle. While primarily concerned with the study and understanding of floridium powered mammals, the lab was also where most of Zootopia's resources on dimensional research were located. The idea was that dimensional travel always seemed to be linked to powered mammals of some variety. Ryan's tablet displayed a message from Marian stating that his guests were waiting for him at the testing field. Ryan quickly made his way to meet Mayor Dawn Bellwether, MCB director Skye Savage, Chief of Precinct One Nala Priderock, and Bellwether's bodyguard Felicia Otterton. The otter was in her late twenties and could generate a powerful wall of energy that deflected incoming attacks back at their targets.

"Ryan, so good to see you back on your feet," Dawn greeted as she approached.

"Good to see you too Mrs. Bellwether."

Felicia stayed ahead of Dawn and held up a halting hand as Ryan came close, Dawn brushed past her guard and hugged her friend's son. "No need to be so paranoid Felicia, Ryan's an old friend."

"No no, she's doing her job," Ryan teased.

"Ryan's correct," Skye agreed, "though he really is harmless."

Felicia crossed her arms, "You have to admit the circumstances are very peculiar."

"Yes," Nala spoke up, "that is why we're here, but I'm certain Ryan can explain it."

"Indeed I can, follow me to the command center," Ryan beckoned, "I'll explain on the way." Ryan did as promised, revealing that the explosion in Sahara Square earlier in the day was caused by powered mammals from another dimension, and that one was captured and being cooperative.

"Well I hope you can wrap this up quickly, the city is understandably afraid of anything involving an explosion these days," Dawn lamented.

As they stepped into the elevator Skye spoke up, "We're away from prying eyes now."

While the rest of the group simply looked confused by Skye's statement, Ryan smiled, "All four of you can be drones now." A few gasps went out as words were interrupted by a complete mental takeover. _The most powerful positions in Zootopia all under my control without any of the effort they normally require, doing things the way they tell you too is so overrated. _"Priderock, Savage, how many of your mammals have yet to be turned into drones?"

"Everyone working at MCB HQ has been injected," Skye announced.

"There's still cops in a few smaller precincts that haven't been injected yet, but everyone in the major ones is ready and waiting," Nala added.

"Excellent, we're going to need those mammals. Wake up Director," Ryan called.

Skye shook her head for a moment before looking over at the three drones, "I don't like this."

"Butttt?"

"It's necessary, powered mammals are too dangerous to be left to their own devices," Skye sighed, "a safety measure is needed. I just wish we didn't have to be so secretive about it."

"I do too, but you know that mammals would place innocent lives in danger if it meant holding onto their own selfish morality," Ryan argued.

"You're right of course, let's hope there's a day when these measures are seen as acceptable in the name of safety," Skye said dejectedly.

"Hannah opposing this still got you upset?"

"How is a mother not disappointed by their daughter failing to see reason? But it doesn't matter, if they've received reinforcements then it's more important than ever that we bring them in," Skye steeled her voice.

The elevator dinged, "And we're here!" Ryan announced, "Now then, Mayor, Proderock. PMR Labs is going to need complete access to all security systems in the city, we need on the spot rapid responses to counter someone who can create portals."

000

"You want us to reverse engineer Robyn's steelblood!?" Clara asked after Kodi excitedly explained his idea to the assembled mammals in the underground bunker.

"Think about it, our only viable route is to target Ryan's infection steelblood itself. Going right for him is impossible right now, and trying to go after the mammals he's taken over one by one won't work either," Kodi ruled out other options, "but if we can find a cure, defang his biggest advantage, we can actually fight back."

"And if anything's going to be able to overpower his steelblood it's mine," Robyn explained, "you've all seen how it gets anything that shouldn't be in my body out of it right? I bet none of the four of us have been sick since we got that injection?"

"But that in itself presents the biggest problem with your idea Kodi," Bella spoke up, "the fact that Ryan and the three of you heal and reject foregien objects from your body so rapidly has made actually studying your steelblood in a lab nigh impossible. Especially since any of it removed for too long dies."

"We can push the probing further than we've ever pushed it before," Hannah countered.

"It's certainly worth the effort," Ronan added, "you said Ryan sacrificed the adapt and survive directive for his more dedicated purpose. Our healing could easily overwhelm something as single purpose as that."

"We are being against the clock," Rani said, "Ryan is growing stronger with each new day, our task only grows stepper the longer we wait."

"I agree," Clara nodded at Rani, "we need to seize any opportunity we're presented."

Alice turned to face Robyn, "It will be extremely painful, we lack the ability to put you under so you'd be awake for the whole ordeal."

Robyn took a step forward, "Son, mother and sister waiting for me in another dimension, wife and father waiting for all of us back home. I've been caught in an oil fire, stabbed pretty much everywhere that can be stabbed, electrocuted, nearly crushed, and had my jaw melted off. I'm the Undying Scarlet, I'll live." The fire in Robyn's eyes and the steel in her voice shut any remaining opposition up, almost any.

"Yeah you'll live, cause you ain't doing this," Reginald stepped forward, "I am."

"What?" Robyn gasped, "Reginald…"

"No listen Robyn, after all the shit I put you and your team through this is something I should be doing. If you can do all that shit and still be standing, then so can I. I'm pretty sure we heal as well as each other." No one had a good counter argument.

"Alright then," Kodi declared, "let's carve open a hybrid and see how they work!"

Alice has not been kidding when she said the process would be painful, and long. It took the mammals in the bunker five hours to create their prototype steelblood vaccine. Reginald wasn't being experimented on the whole time, but it felt even longer to him.

The tempestuous hybrid had stripped down to his pants and was strapped down to the operating table. Kodi's binding scarf bound his arms to the side, while restraints strong enough to hold an elephant were needed to hold his legs down. He was given a rubber ball gag to keep him from biting his tongue. They did what they could, but a decent part of the operation would depend on Reginald's ability to hold still. To that end Robyn sat at the head of the table and rested Reginald's head in her lap, whatever comfort she could provide she did. It wasn't like she was much use during lab experiments anyway.

The others all had their roles to play as well. Bella was effectively running the operation, being the only one with the mechanical know how. Clara was her main assistant; though it was not her field of study the wolf could still follow orders and could get the gist of most things. Alice was on hand to help with actually cutting Reginald open for studying his steelblood and trying to replicate it. The former assassin knew how to cause pain and made the process as painless for the poor hybrid as she could. Ronan was on hand to run and grab any supplies in the immediate area, and to keep an eye on Fuli while they waited for her to wake. Kodi and Hannah acted as security and occasionally snuck into the city to get supplies using Kodi's portals. Hannah's pulse made it impossible to catch them off guard. Rani took the task of providing any refreshments the group needed, the lioness was quite adept in the kitchen and produced filling but relatively mess free foods.

Reginald did his best to power through the pain. He kept his eyes shut the whole time and focused on resting his head in Robyn's lap, trying to meditate through the ordeal. It was excruciating because his body would heal off the damage, meaning it had to be inflicted many times. Reginald never moved from his position, even when offered a break or food was presented; he knew if he got up he wouldn't get back down. This was tested during one particularly memorable interruption.

"Fuli's gone!" Ronan shouted as he returned from the kitchen. Everyone turned to see an empty table where the cheetah had been resting.

"No she's still there," Hannah said off handedly. She assumed Ronan had looked at the wrong bed.

"She's not here!" Ronan insisted.

Ronan was rushing to the beds, but Kodi got there first. He looked surprised at first but quickly let out an amused chuckle, "I think I figured out Fuli's power."

As Ronan arrived at Fuli's bedside he saw that the sheet covering her lower body was still elevated. Reaching out to where he knew it should be, Ronan grabbed Fuli's hand. He felt it, but he was still holding nothing. "She's invisible," he realized.

"That's certainly useful," Alice grinned.

"Yeah Ronan, your girlfriend won big," Hannah smirked.

Robyn was about to comment but then felt Reginald squirm in her lap, "Can we get back on task, Reginald's still tied down here!" Some hasty apologies later the group was back on task.

Despite Alice's best efforts, the process was still long and painful for Reginald. When Bella gave the command to release him the hybrid simply slumped down. Robyn carried her brother away from the laboratory and into the lounge area. The large room had several sizable sofas and chairs, including one particularly large L shaped sofa around a table. Robyn made her way to the beds along the walls, but as she lay Reginald down he moaned, "Don't...don't put me back there."

_He thinks he's going back to the lab table_, Robyn realized. She carried him over to the coaches and placed him sitting up. Seeing him about to topple over, Robyn sat next to him and rested his head on her shoulder. _Kodi, Bella, you had better make all of this worth it!_

000

One thing that Chime's teammates had learned was that the lynx was almost always in a mood about something, though how much of one varied. Ever since TNTiger's attack and Mage's sacrifice that mood had usually been dour or upset.

_She blames herself_, Orca noted as the two patrolled the shoreline of the Rainforest District in the late morning hours, _there's no way she could've bound Slipper any better then she did but she still blames herself, that fight with Rani certainly didn't help matters. _None of the others were there for it, but a serious argument between the two had led to the young lioness leaving the team, Esso said she wasn't even sure how it happened. The others decided to give the two some space and reach out…

_Eventually._

_Eventually_, it was always eventually whenever Orca thought about it. Before Orca could think of it any further her thoughts were interrupted by Chime.

"Sorry I was snippy with you earlier Regi, that explosion over in Sahara with Ceartais has me on edge," Chime said in a, for her, soft tone.

"I understand Chime," Orca empathized her hero name, "we're all a bit on edge these days.

"Yeah but, it's weird," Chime tried to rationalize, "this past month I've felt like I'm always on edge, like I can't not be ready."

"Orca and Chime, a fire has broken out at the north Rainforest District pier, you two are closer than anyone else!" Vizor's voice called over their radios.

"Well that'll come in handy now, hop on!" Orca called as she jumped into the water. Chime did just that and Orca sped along the coast towards the pier. Chime, on the mare's back, saw the smoke rising from a distance. The duo made landfall and Orca wasted no time forming a spray of water to douse the fire. Chime noticed that the building on fire looked fairly old and walked over to a yard worker who was nearby.

"How did this happen?" Chime asked.

"No idea ma'm, that old wearhouse was set to be demolished soon anyway, so everyone was more concerned with evacuating the area."

"Good call, maybe some impatient bastard wanted to speed things up," Chime joked as Orca finished drenching the flames.

"Sea mammals have done dumber things when drun...Gah!" The tiger slumped to the ground and Chime felt something impact her chest a moment later. She looked up and saw Bullet standing aways down the dock; her twin pistols aimed at Chime and the worker. "Bullet? The hell is wrong with you!?" _Wait, how am I not knocked out. _

_Be a drone_.

Chime's mind went blank in one moment, in the next she was charging her sonic scream and aimed straight at Bullet. The blind gunslinger dodged in the nick of time.

"Shit!" Bullet swore, "they're immune to tranqs, Ryan must've done something to them!"

"I noticed!" Sergeant Red called. His own gun had failed to effect Orca, so he was closing the distance to knock the mare out up close. Orca suddenly held both hands out and Red froze in place. Ordinarily Orca would never use her water control abilities on the water in another mammal's body; she viewed it as violating them in a way. But as a drone she went for the most effective method, and that meant holding her foe still while she pulled a sphere of water from the ocean and reformed it around them. Red desperately tried desperately to escape his watery prison, but his own body was rebelling against him.

The wide open areas in the pier gave Bullet no cover or places to hide from Chime's sonic scream, and she was quickly losing ground. Chime suddenly cut off her attack and dove to her left, leaving Bullet trapped between her and a steel wall. Chime let out her wail and Bullet prepared for the worst, but a ring or orange suddenly opened in front of her and Chime saw her own back through the portal. She never got the chance to process that information as her own sonic scream hit her in the back and she was flung forward. The portal closed and Bullet dodged the incoming lynx, leaving the controlled heroine to slam into the wall. Chime fell to the ground unconscious.

Near the water's edge, Orca was almost done with Red when she heard a voice call, "Is this your card?" Orca turned and saw a grey wolf in a long coat hurl a card at her, before she could react to the new attack a demonic hand shot out of the card and ensnared Orca. Being a drone, Orca didn't scream as she was sealed away. The water fell away from Red and he gasped for air. Bullet made her way over to the two while Pyre scooped up Chime.

"We ran into some complications but that worked out alright," Mage smirked as he held up his demon prison card. Pyre had set a strategically placed fire to lure the PMFR members in, wherein Bullet and Sergeant Red would knock them out. Mage was on standby in case anything went wrong, which it had. "You okay Sergeant?"

Red didn't respond with words, but flashed a quick thumbs up while he caught his breath.

"Then let's get out of here before Ryan gets wise," Kodi maintained his grin, "time to see if Bella pulled off a miracle."

000

"What do you mean they disappeared!?" Ryan shouted at Marian when he, Clara and Luna arrived at the command center.

"I mean exactly what it sounds like, Orca and Chime have disappeared off of our sensors, their steelblood isn't sending a signal anymore," Marian replied calmly.

"What happened exactly?" Clara asked evenly, hoping to keep forward momentum.

Marian nodded and signaled one of her subordinates to display some security footage. "Pyre drew them in with a fire. Bullet and Sergeant Red attempted to tranq the two but Ryan's syrume prevented that, they turned the tables but…" Marian trailed off and let the footage speak for itself. The group winced as Chime was thrown into a wall by her own scream and the Wildes gasped at seeing Mage's demon card in action.

"That's just creepy," Luna shivered, "you were right Sirius, words don't do that thing justice."

"Yes well uh," Ryan tried to remain collected, "none of us wanting to learn where that card takes you aside, what happened next."

Marian looked relieved at the out, "We lost Orca's signal when she was sealed, but regained it when it started coming from Tundra Town." Marian pointed at the screen, the signals started coming from different places around the city at roughly minute intervals for a few minutes before the signal was lost altogether. "Needless to say they also disabled their radios."

"Kodi's portals," Clara said, 'we can have all the rapid response we want but those things are just unpredictable."

"Good to know we're putting all of the Mayor's, the ZPD's and the MCB's resources to good use," Ryan barbed, mostly at himself.

"How did they block the signal? There aren't too many areas where the signal naturally wouldn't reach us and all of them are being monitored right?" Luna asked Marian.

"We are, and they aren't there. But it stands to reason that they have some kind of hideout if they've avoided us this long," Marian explained.

"Either way we aren't going to be able to catch Kodi and the others unless he makes a big mistake," Clara spoke up,"we need to lure him out."

"And you'd be the perfect bait?" Ryan guessed.

"He'd do anything to save me," Clara reasoned.

Ryan looked a bit angry at first, but quickly turned away, "Yes, he would."

000

Sirius floated above the PMR Labs, mentally preparing herself for the task of capturing Kodi. It was ironic; their first mission together had involved him trying to save her and now she was trying to bring him in. _Kodi, please see reason on this. _

"Sirius!" A voice called out. She looked down and saw Miss Fantabulous standing on the roof. "We're almost ready to head out, you sure you're ready?"

"I'm sure, I'm not looking forward to this but...Ryan's got the right of it, and the sooner this is over with the better," Sirius put some steel into her voice.

"You poor thing," Miss Fantabulous muttered.

"It's okay," Sirius misunderstood, "but thank you for caring."

Before either of the two could speak again they heard Marian over the radio, "We have a visual on Mage, Chime and Orca!"

"What!?" Multiple voices shouted at once.

"It's true," Ryan stated, "the two PMFR members appear to be unconscious and...Mage is just floating over them."

"Where are they?" Vizor asked.

"Savanna Central, top of...wait, what's he doing?' Ryan asked.

"It looks like a clock," Marian answered. Indeed, Mage had just placed a digital clock in Orca's lap, and it started counting down from five minutes. Marian went tense, "What's he planning?"

"I don't know but that clock's not going to get the chance to run out. Everyone scramble to Mage's position," Ryan shouted.

It quickly became clear how well thought out Mage's choice of battlefield was. It was far enough away from the lab that some heroes would have trouble reaching it quickly, the tall building prevented Roar and Miss Fantabulous from easily accessing it. Vizor confirmed that Bullet was hiding inside the building; her pulse gave Mage a very advanced warning system. The height also meant it was very risky to stun the Mage since he could easily fall over the ledges. Sirius kept all of that in mind as she flew towards the building from above. _Kodi, what are you planning?_

"Sirius," Ryan called over her radio, "security footage just spotted someone leaving a hiding space in the building next to Mage, it was brief, but we saw a red hood and a mask."

"It's Reginald," Sirius said with confidence.

"I agree," Ryan said, "try and get Kodi talking as long as you can, the others need time to catch up."

"Will do," Sirius agreed as she closed the distance. She didn't fly as fast as she could've, better to stall for time, but before the clock had reached two minutes she was within walking distance of her boyfriend.

_Try and keep him talking._ "You certainly know how to pick a spot with a great view Kodi, though I didn't think we'd be going on a date in costumes this soon," Clara teased lightly.

"You know perfectly well why we're in costumes Clara, or am I talking directly to you Ryan?" Mage spoke in full serious mode.

Sirius heard a sharp inhale of breath on her radio, but stayed focused, "Not in the mood for banter hun? Oh well." Sirius took a serious face of her own, "What are you hoping to accomplish here Kodi?"

"Save you of course," the Mage said bluntly.

"Like how you saved me from Doom? Oh right, I didn't need saving then and I don't need it now. But you Mister Jones certainly do," Sirius pointed directly at him.

"And what self serving manifesto is Ryan pushing out of your mouth?" Mage almost sounded disinterested.

Sirius's eyes narrowed, "It's the truth, just like in this world, all of our problems right now could've been avoided if we'd had a capable mastermind helping to guide us! Luna would never have fallen into bad habits, Alice and the others, but especially you, would've never gone with such an obviously flawed plan and we wouldn't be falling apart right now. You and Robyn would still be friends!"

"Robyn and I are friends, friends who aren't afraid to look back and see where they failed before and learn from it," Mage said with confidence, "and yeah, I've made mistakes, but stumbling and getting back up is part of getting better, and that's something Clara understood...and that you don't Ryan."

Sirius snarled don't, "Don't talk to me like I'm not here!"

"My girlfriend isn't here, and I have no interest in talking with a puppet, so why don't you come out Ryan?' Mage challenged.

_Be a drone, but stay airborne._ Sirius's body went stiff. In the command center Ryan got in a pre prepared chair and slipped on a special helmet and gave the signal to Sirius's steelblood. It started sending more advanced info back as the helmet linked Ryan's thoughts directly to the network he'd created. Now Ryan could see what his drone was seeing and direct it on the spot, his steelblood would also simulate any sounds and feelings his drone experienced while he was piloting them. It was as close to actually being there as he could get. If nothing else he would stall for more time. Sirius's body loosened up a little and her expression became slightly sad.

"Let me begin by saying that I'm sorry about the fight you and the others got caught in when you arrived, I never wanted that," Ryan spoke with Sirius's voice, "Is Fuli Duma okay?"

"She's fine," the Mage said quickly, cutting out the reprogrammed version of his girlfriend and talking right to Ryan strangely made things easier. "Your concern would ring less hollow if it weren't coming from the mind wiped drone you turned my girlfriend into."

"It doesn't need to stay that way permanently," Ryan said through Sirius, "just until the security measures are all in effect, but this can't be done half assed."

"A security measure that turns who knows how many mammals into choiceless drones, where does this stop Ryan? Or have you not thought that far ahead?" the Mage asked.

"Zootopia for now, I know It's impractical for just me to go any further." Sirius started to slowly advance on the Mage, "But I don't want to do it all alone, there's so many worlds out there, so many pointless tragedies, I want all of you to be able to help your worlds too."

"Like how you didn't come to this obvious trap aione? Like how it's impractical that a sudden electronic damper field is going to hide Andraste trying to snipe me?" The Mage easily intercepted the steelblood arrow fired on him with a card, sending the parasitic device to the roof below. Ryan wasted no time and shot forward, jabbing the Mage in the lower neck with a steelblood syringe of his own.

"This is for the better you'll see," Ryan carefully held Kodi so Sirius would catch him when he went blank during the takeover. Ryan's pain sensors picked up a sudden prick in Sirius's arm. A quick look confirmed that the Mage had stuck a syringe of his own in Sirius's upper arm.

"Why don't you look closer?" Mage taunted, drawing Ryan's gaze down to his neck again. The distinctive white liquid of steelblood was leaking back out of the small hole Ryan had made.

Ryan panicked, "How!?"

"The cure," Mage boasted. He correctly predicted that Ryan would try to escape so sent his binding scarf to ensnare Sirius's wrists. The wolf struggled for a moment before a crackle of energy escaped her hands, but the aim was poor and the blast sailed harmlessly into the sky. Ryan's vision was starting to get blurry so he opted for a desperate move. He charged up all the energy in Sirius's body and prepared to release it in one big burst. The signal was getting so weak that he barely saw the orange ring of a portal fly past his field of view, and only a glimpse of the Undying Scarlet as her staff flew forward and knocked Sirius out.

"You've lost Sirius's signal!" Ryan heard Marian call. He quickly rerouted his view to look through another of his drones; Andraste. He didn't dare try to take full control; the pause it would cause would definitely cost him the fight, but he could still provide on the spot instructions. He finished integrating with Andraste's steelblood and was immediately assaulted with The Crimson Banshee's wail. It did nothing to bother Andraste as she easily dodged the subsequent jumping attack.

_Luna! Draw him further down, Miss Fantabulous is almost here_! He commanded. _Reginald's a brute according to Clara, he should be easy to fool._ As the two combatants locked eyes, Ryan looked at the supposed fury in those vivid...violet eyes? _That's not...it's Ronan! _ Both Ryan and Andraste realized they'd been duped by a simple costume swap just as Ronan used the distraction to draw his pistol which had been attached to his back and concealed by Crimson's cloak. He fired. _Dodge it! _Andraste desperately fell backwards to dodge and hit the ground. Not a moment later there was a sword pointed at Andraste's throat.

"You are immune to tranquilizers if I'm correct, but not this!" The energy field flared to life around the sword and with one clean swipe, Ryan was evicted from a second of his drones. In the heat of the moment, he'd forgotten about the tranq immunity shot's he'd given to his drones.

This time he made no attempt to integrate with another drone, he ripped the helmet off and watched events play out, trying to form a plan. Roar had caught the Mage off guard from down below with a blasting roar, though the distance prevented it from being any more than a knockback. When Roar attempted to pounce up at the flying wolf, the Mage flung a portal at him and sent the giant lion crashing into Miss Fantabulous, who was almost upon Ronan and Blade Dancer. Ryan watched, unable to do anything as a flurry of orange rings resulted in the Mage, Ronan, Blade Dancer, Bullet, Orca, Chime and Andraste disappearing.

He'd lost.

000

"I AM GOING TO PIN THAT HYBRID CREEP TO A WALL AND BLAST HIM WITH THE ENTIRE NICKELBACK DISCOGRAPHY IN MY SONIC YELL!" Esso hollered as she was brought up to speed on what had happened.

Rani smiled before turning to Bella, "She is back, it is working."

"So far," Bella agreed, "but their minds were not heavily altered by Ryan's steelblood, Miss Bloom and Mrs Wilde will be the real test." Bella turned to look at the tables where the wolf and fox were laid, Kodi and Alice faithfully at their sides.

"Well we all want a piece of Ryan," Hannah smiled as she stepped up to the furious lynx, "good to have you back Esso."

"Yeah, yeah," Esso seethed, "look I'm, sorry about…"

Hannah interrupted, "it's fine Esso, nothing he used you for is your fault."

"I almost wish it was," Regina muttered, "it would make all these memories easier to process." The mare had slipped off her Orca hood and looked a bit like a diver who'd just came back up from a dive.

"What do you remember?" Alice asked without looking away from Luna.

"It's...weird," Regina sighed, "Parts of my memories feel normal, except there's something a little off. Like you're remembering a fact for a test wrong. Then there's entire blotches of times I don't remember anything."

"The blotches are likely the times the steelblood took complete control of you," Clara reasoned, "are there any memories you do have that feel out of place?"

Esso spoke up first, "Did we get into a fight? Like a, what's the word, verbal one?" The question was directed at Rani.

The lioness shook her head, "There was no fight, you were being made a drone and were attacking me when I escaped."

"Ryan filled in the blanks," Ronan stated as he emerged from a changing room. He'd changed into a simple undershirt and pants and made his way back over to Fuli's bed. When he put his hand where he knew hers rested he felt nothing, a moment's panic and some quick reaching out revealed that there was a pillow underneath Fuli's blanket and the cheetah herself was gone. Ronan barely had a chance to process this when something grabbed him by the ankles and lifted him into the air. Ronan was upside down when his girlfriend's face faded into existence from seemingly nowhere.

"The amount of fun I am going to have with this power is scary Ronnie," Fuli said with a devious smile.

Ronan gave a happy smile in return, "I'm just relieved to see you smiling at all."

Fuli's grin softed to a more sweet expression, "Reginald told me you hardly left my side."

"As little as I could get away with," Ronan leaned in and kissed Fuli while still upside down. Fuli reciprocated the kiss for a few seconds before getting tired of having to hold her arms so high up. She tossed Ronan into the air and caught him right side up and resumed the kiss.

Esso grinned, "I like this Fuli, she'd be fun to hang around."

"Yes well," Hannah sighed, "that's three out of five patients recovering, but those two are the big question," she pointed at Clara and Luna. "You two got relatively light mind altering, with them it was way more extensive."

"So we don't know how they'll react when they…" Alice was interrupted by Sirius groaning, "wake up."

Sirius stirred from her sleep and groggily opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Kodi's concerned face looking down at her, then she looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. With little warning Sirius tried to roll out of her bed, but she was far too unbalanced and instead tumbled to the floor. Kodi caught her but soon found one of her palms was aimed square at his chest. Deathly silence filled the room, and aside from Hannah quietly aiming one of her tranq guns at Sirius, no one moved. Sirius looked completely lost and was constantly looking back and forth between her surroundings and Kodi. She became focused when Kodi gently put his hand around the hand aimed at him and guided it to his heart. "Take all the time you need Clara, there's no one in your head but you now."

Sirius's face went through a whole gauntlet of emotions very rapidly; denial, confusion, sadness, anger and fear. Tears fell down her cheeks as her face finally settled on grief, she leaned forward and planted her face on Kodi's shoulder. "He turned, he forced me to be something I'm...I feel violated."

"You're stronger then he is Clara, your memories, who you are, it'll beat out his nonsense with enough time," Kodi tried to reassure her. For a while the two wolves held their embrace and shut out everything around them, including Luna and Alice going through a similar process as themselves. When Sirius was ready to stand again, the two turned to face the still gathered mammals.

Kodi looked over the group of twelve mammals before him, the fourteen of them were all he had to save the city from Ryan's grasp and find a way to get all of them back home. Someone had to rise to the challenge. "Thank you, all of you, for helping me save Clara. Thank you Robyn for helping me realize where I'd gone wrong before, and thank you Reginald for going through so much to make this cure possible." Kodi closed his eyes and put on a more serious face, "But we're still far from winning this battle, we've only got a small amount of the cure left and not much means to produce more. What's worse, the cure only protects the body for a little over a day. We won today, yes, but we need to capitalize on this and quickly if we want to save this city, if we want to free everyone under Ryan's control, if we want to go home. Tonight we rest, we all need it, but tomorrow we take the fight to Ryan. It'll be tough, probably the hardest thing any of us have done so far, I'll be honest and say the odds aren't great, but all of us, Ceartais or Highshadow, do this because we want to help mammals. Not because it's easy, not for any reward, but because it's right!" Kodi was speaking at a higher volume now. "Tomorrow I'm doing what;s right! So are all of you with me!?" The leader of Team Ceartais received a resounding cheer from all in attendance.

AN: Aka: How Kodi Jones got his groove back. Our heroes finally get some strikes back at Ryan, but the battle is still far from won. How will all parties involved proceed from here?

Next Time: On the night before the final battle, everyone takes a moment to catch their breaths and we see how the worlds left behind are dealing with these bizarre circumstances.


	20. Chapter 19: A Night for Small Comforts

So at this point I'm resigned to the fact that Dimensions and Time will most likely be coming out bi-weekly from here on. The time I have to write is more limited as is the time I'm in the mood for it. None the less content continues. Thank you so much to everyone who reviews, follows and favorites this little story. Let's get going.

**Chapter 19: A Night for Small Comforts**

"Seriously? Professor Knight is a cop in your world," Clara asked her other self.

Sirius nodded, "Ironic that Arthur's a history professor in this world, he wanted nothing to do with his own history in ours." The two Clara's were comparing notes to try and help Sirius through the process of unraveling her memory from the previous day.

"Well it's a good thing he accepted it eventually, that sword of his seriously saved us when we fought Doom," Kodi said from off to the side. Though not directly involved in the conversation, he was keeping an eye on his girlfriend.

Sirius nodded in agreement and took the time to look around the whole room. Luna was working through her own tangled memories by talking with Ronan, both Fuli and Alice were also talking. It was painfully clear Luna was distracting herself from the heartbreak of her brother's betrayal.

Regina, Rani and Hannah were off in the kitchen making some snacks. Bella was in a mobile pod and was monitoring the four recently rescued mammals recoveries. Reginald was talking about music with Esso; apparently getting some recommendations for songs to exercise to.

_Another world, another Esso doing better then...wait a minute! _"How can Esso be here?"

"What?" Clara tilted her head at the seemingly random question.

"Or Regina?" Sirius continued without answering. "Kodi, you remember why Doom kidnapped those mammals in the first place?"

"To harvest their powers for his army and...because they were unique to our world," Kodi realized his girlfriend's point.

"Care to fill a clueless wolf in?" Clara huffed, wondering if this was how others had felt when she and her Kodi were taking.

A quick rundown of the relevant details later had Clara contemplating the same question as her counterpart. "So, dimensional research is not my forte, but it seems like your Doom was wrong about the whole unique thing."

"You really think so?" Sirius asked.

"Well, you've run into three Essos in five worlds, seems like a trend," Clara shrugged, "but seriously, the multiverse is hypothetically limitless. The notion that a mammal only shows up once is kind of ridiculous."

"Well when you put it like that," Kodi said in an agreeing tone.

"So, it's more that mammals like Esso and Brenda are just a lot less common," Sirius reasoned.

"Hey look on the bright side: the talking in the third person magic tech genius dictator who's apparently a whole team of heroes level threat is still capable of getting stuff wrong," Clara rambled off.

"Small comfort considering all he can do," Sirius stated, recalling how close Doom had come to defeating two hero teams.

"Take your comforts where you can get them" Kodi spoke up, "you never know when the worlds going to throw you a curveball."

Away from the various groups talking about whatever they felt like, one mammal was sitting alone. Robyn sat at the large L couch by herself looking at her handheld mirror. No matter how hard she tried all she got was static. The group had taken Kodi's advice and was resting for the night, which included finally changing out of their costumes, but that just gave time for reality to set in. Her wife and father were back home, and her sister, mother and son had been left in Reginald's world. She was without access to any of her family for the first time she could remember. Despite having plenty of company, Robyn felt lonely. Eventually she tucked the makeup kit back in her pocket and pulled out her phone. She alternated between starring longing at pictures of her family and friends, wondering how everyone was doing.

000

_Ronan's Earth_

"I don't understand why we're still using this dingy place," Jack Savage said as his family entered the backup bunker.

"Because of how Robyn's power works," Hannah responded, "she can only see things other than alternate versions of herself if she knows that thing well. This bunker is the only place she spent a lot of time in, so if she and Ronan come back anywhere it'll be here."

Jack grumbled, "This dimension travel nonsense is making my head hurt."

"Well it's nothing compared to what those five are going through," Skye indicated the Wilde family deep in the Bunker, "so keep that to yourself." Jack nodded in agreement.

Nick, Judy, Luna, Marian and Robin were seated around the bunker's monitor setup, forlorn expressions on their faces. Not a minute went by without one of the five looking over to the mirror Ronan, Fuli and their guests had disappeared into. Some of them had been witness to the event and the sheer suddenness of it still boggled their minds.

The Savages approached their old friends and heard Nick moan, "One day, we have our son back for one day and now he's gone again!"

"He's not gone!" Luna insisted, "we know he's out there, somewhere, and he's in good company. He'll find his way back to us."

"I know that sweetie," Judy rested her hand on her daughter's, "but I can't help but worry. Robyn…"

"Yes?" Robin Senior asked, "Oh right she's...damn that's actually confusing." The old thief chuckled, "I wonder how her family got around that?"

"It's amazing how many differences there are even though our world's are so similar," Marian pondered.

"Well it doesn't matter the world, delicious food is still delicious," Skye remarked as she arrived at the small gathering. Holding out a large back containing the dinners they were delivering.

"And takeout is still takeout," Jack joked as that was what his family had actually brought. "You guys really don't want anything better?"

"None of us were in a cooking mood," Luna admitted, "and this isn't really the place for fancy dinners is it?"

"No it isn't," Hannah agreed as she took a seat next to her teammate. The eight mammals were silent for a time as they ate their meals, all of them realizing that they had the usual crowd for their Sunday dinners, except that Ronan wasn't there.

"I wonder if he's eating well," Judy muttered when she was halfway through her meal.

"I'm sure he is," Marian said, though it was with little more than blind hope.

"They got lucky this time," Judy shook her head, "They came in basically already proving they were friendlies."

"You're worried the worlds they wound up in may be hostile," Jack realized.

"I don't know," Skye responded, "questioning for sure, but I don't see them being attacked outright."

"Considering all the other unknowns, that's a small comfort," Nick said as he looked at his own reflection in the monitor, wondering where his son had wound up.

000

_Reginald's Earth_

"And that's pretty much how Alice joined the family," Judy finished recapping the events to Victoria. The two were seated at Victoria's computer station and had been trading stories about unique events from their respective worlds. If nothing else it helped to distract from how helpless they were to reach the six mammals who had disappeared.

"The White Crow," Victoria shuddered, "glad I never had to meet him. Hell there's a bunch of stuff from your world I'm glad never made it over here, Reginald would not have liked learning that he'd beaten up a bunch of brainwashed mammals. She was referring to the Drowned.

"I am curious what became of Fuli in this world," Judy thought aloud.

"I give her a low chance of having turned out better, giving the track record this world seems to have," Victoria sighed.

"Can't believe I'm actually worried about Fuli," Judy gave a weak laugh, "If you told me that a few days ago I would've called you as crazy as the actual cult leader."

"Same with me and talking to you," Victoria said, "obviously it's not the same but…"

"You really should try and talk with me, er, that is to say the me from this world more often," Judy advised.

"The few times I've tried have been awkward and amounted to little more then status updates," Victoria sighed, "why bother trying at this point?"

Judy made sure to lock eyes with the older vixen, "Because if you really want your daughter to get better she's going to have to confront your Judy at some point."

Victoria looked aghast at the suggestion, "Do you really think it'll ever get to that point!? Don't get me wrong, I want that to happen but she can barely talk to me."

"I don't know," Judy admitted, "but someone has to be willing to make things better or they'll just stay the way they are."

"You always were one for grandiose proclamations," Victoria sighed, the interactions she'd shared with her Judy becoming more nostalgic the more she spoke with the bunny's counterpart.

Judy let out an embarrassed chuckle, "Yes well, it's been working out for me so far." Judy walked up to the keyboard and typed out a number. "Hella, can you check if this is my phone number in this world?"

"It is not Chief Wilde," Hella replied instantly, "perhaps this is an example of minor variations between dimensions."

Judy nodded, "Well either way, I think you should call your Judy about Luna's breakthrough today, and brooch the subject of them meeting."

"So that she's ready for it if it ever happens," Victoria realized, "Judy I...I'll try but...not tonight. I don't think I can face her knowing that her son is missing." Victoria brought the conversation to the very thing they'd been avoiding talking about.

Judy didn't have a good rebuttal to that, "Fair enough."

The conversation was interrupted by an excited squeal from down at the conference table. Judy and Victoria walked over to the railing and saw Hannah and Alice sitting at the table. Hannah had a nervous smile while Alice looked uncharacteristically giddy.

"And what's got you so chipper Frenchie?" Victoria smirked down at the two. Judy stifled a chuckle of her own upon hearing Nick's nickname for Alice followed her across dimensions.

The white rabbit suddenly looked bashful at the sudden attention put on her, so it was Hannah who responded, "She asked me out and I said yes." The striped hybrid chuckled as the older mammals jaws dropped, "I was as surprised as you."

"Same here, but hey, you two finally have a good excuse to leave this sink that isn't a patrol!" Andi snarked as she entered the room at just the right moment. Alice was ready to respond, but Hannah held up a hand. She could tell that Andi's barb was softer than normal.

Up on the higher level, Judy smiled as the three younger ladies started chatting down below. "You know Victoria? You say Fuli might not have great odds in this world, but...you're alive, Oni's alive, Alice isn't a scar canvas board and Andi…" Judy's smile weakened somewhat, "I've never met her, but in my world she was an amoral thrillseeker and in Doom's world an outright monster. I know the negatives really stand out but...this is the only world where you and your daughter can actually be together. I think that counts for something."

Victoria wiped a tear from her eye, "Okay then, fifty fifty shot that Fuli turns out better in this world," the attempt at a joke was matched by a warm smile between the two mothers.

000

_Robyn's Earth _

"So this is the blue dildo that screwed Doom's mask up, is it always glowing like this?" Rocket asked as he and Hannah stood in front of Excalibur. "Wait, blind. Sorry I forgot."

"It's okay Rocket, not like I usually give off blind vibes," Hannah handwaved the apology. "I don't think the sword glows all the time, it's probably doing it now because it sensed Robyn and Kodi opening that portal…" Hannah trailed off and Rocket realized she'd steered herself right back into the current depressing situation.

"Well, not like even the blue man group wannabe knew much about his own weapon," Rocket attempted to hurriedly wrap up the subject, "wana head over to the shooting range and focus on weapons we do know?"

Thankfully, Hannah took the opening, "Yeah, that's why you're here." As the two started walking off into the Bunker, Hannah asked, "So you're still keeping up the weapon practice even though you're retired now?"

"Damn right I am, a guy needs his hobbies and with this world turning crazier by the day I am not getting rusty, especially if Lyla is in trouble," Rocket stated with determination.

"Not taking the sunrise for granted?" Hannah smiled gently.

"Now you get it," Rocket smirked back. As the two arrived at the target range and Bella prepared a course for them, Rocket counted his lucky stars that Hannah was making this easy.

_Hannah your team is worse with this whole drama spiral then the Guardians! I swear if Lyla hadn't asked me...heh, I probably still woulda come. Need someplace where I can keep up practice with these bad boys._

Rocket's initial fears that he'd have to hold back to not worsen Hannah's depressed state by beating her were quickly forgotten. Miserable or not, Hannah was an amazing shot. That said, Rocket noticed there was a lot of aggression in her movements; violent swings, pulling the trigger as hard as possible, and a slightly reserved scowl present on her face.

As they paused following a particularly brutal mobile target simulation, Rocket finally spoke up, "So, do wanna talk about what's bugging you or…"

"No I don't," Hannah snapped, "sorry, sorry it's just...after that blow up with Kion I'm trying to let myself cool off."

"How's that working?"

"Barely," Hannah admitted, "I won't lie, I'm kind of...depending on Robyn and the others to make it home soon, because I don't know what I'm going to do if they don't."

"Look I'm no expert in all this feelings crap, but I know that putting off stuff like this is like not taking care of your guns, ya leave the damage too long and it's gonna fester."

Hannah chuckled at the analogy, "And yet here you are trying to help, the fact that I have a friend who cares enough to try even when he's not great at it is enough to get me through another day. Come on, let's get back to it."

The two resumed their shooting practice, and Rocket was glad the talk had ended when it did. He didn't know all the details about this group's dynamics and he certainly didn't know what had happened after cat-hulk had his face ripped up. Hannah was doing a bit better, and as a relative outsider, he considered that a success.

000

"Damn," was all Blake could mutter after Olivia finished recapping the events that had transpired while she was out of town to him. The two were standing on Olivia's balcony, the lovely sunset view contrasted Olivia's dour mood.

"I seriously thought things were improving, then I leave for a few days and this happens," Olivia sighed, the usual fire in her voice absent.

"Will Kion have scars?"

"No, assuming anyone down there remembers that the big guy has a way out of stuff like that. Not that I blame them if they don't." The mouse drew herself up, "If any good came from this it's that the whole blow up was a reality check for everyone."

"Here meaning?"

"Everyone knows they're at their wits ends and stressed out like mad, so they've started distancing themselves from each other outside of the necessities. Alice is still camped out in the Bunker and someone's always there to help her, but the other's are keeping a...well not healthy but non confrontational distance." Olivia stared off into the distance, "Was retiring a mistake Blake? Maybe if I'd stayed on as leader, not in the field but still in charge while Kodi got more experience, I could've helped avoid all of this."

"Maybe, maybe not," Blake shrugged, "but who made your choice and so far you've stuck with it. You didn't leave your meeting when the emergency signal went off right?"

"Nope," Olivia confirmed, "took some effort to resist the temptation though."

"And if you ask me, Alice, Luna and the others did this to themselves," Blake's face hardened, "there's only so far you can mistreat your loved ones before they snap back."

"Wouldn't I know that," Olivia pondered, knowing all too well that she was guilty of what Blake was describing. "Not exactly the sentiment that's going to fix things."

A soft hand went on her shoulder a moment later, "Didn't mean to dig up bad memories, just saying that, while I do actually have a plan for right now, you've gotta accept that some bridges may be burned within your team."

"Yeah, Robyn and Kion haven't spoken since, wait!," faceing her boyfriend head on, Olvia asked, "you have a plan."

"Well, more of an idea that I'm baking the details on," Blake smiled at his pun.

"Well don't just make endearingly awful jokes, tell me," Olivia demanded.

"How do you feel about spending our romantic evening in the Bunker?"

000

_Ryan's Earth_

"It is finished," Bella smiled sadly as she finished typing something. Her audience of Ronan, Fuli, Reginald, Luna and Alice all looked confused. Save for Luna, who just looked terribly sad.

"Can't you just _will_ the words into existence Bella?" Ronan asked the question on everyone's minds. He was a witness to how effectively Bella could operate even in Olivia's body.

'I can, and under normal circumstances I would, but it feels right typing these messages out by hand," Bella explained.

"Messages, oh!" Alice gasped, "you've been typing the messages to Blake by hand?" That explanation got everyone's attention.

"Blake?" Reginald asked, unfamiliar with the rat.

"What are you writing about?" Fuli asked.

"And isn't sending out messages from this location ridiculously risky?" Ronan asked in a more urgent tone.

"They are messages to Mr. Gusteau, I have been typing them aside from the first one, Blake Gusteau is Olivia's husband, he is aware that something terrible has happened and forced his wife into hiding but no explicit details, and there's a complex one way sending system I'm using to avoid any attention from Ryan," Bella calmly answered every question.

'Does Blake know that his wife isn't even writing these messages?" Luna demanded.

"...No, I saw no reason to cause him further stress," Bella looked away guiltily, "I maintain that we may be able to revive Mrs. Gusteau's mind once we have better resources."

"A dead mind that you and Ryan caused!" Luna shouted, the news of her best friend's fate alongside Ryan's betrayal was tearing the vixen up.

"Mi amore!" Alice chastised in return, "you know that's not the truth."

"Mrs' Wilde-Kirabito is correct," Bella replied morously, "while Ryan is responsible for putting events into motion, the blame for Mrs. Gusteau's state lays solely at my feet for my poor handling of the situation."

"That's not what I meant!" Alice responded in exasperation.

"But it is the truth irregardless," Bella said softly. "I am so sorry Mrs. Wilde, at the present all I can do is promise to try and bring your friend back."

'No I'm, I'm sorry," Luna apologized tearfully, "it's just that I come out of this mind control haze and everything's gone to hell! My best friend is being piloted by an AI, some of my friends and probably family are literal drones, my team is in hiding and my little brother is..is...why?" Luna tried to choke back a sob, "Why are you doing this Ryan?"

"He went bad," Fuli said bluntly, earning her a few annoyed looks, "look I'm sorry, but speaking as someone who was maybe a day away from becoming a terrorist I can confirm that adversity can change a mammal for the worst." Those not in the know gave the cheetah some strange looks, but Ronan picked up on his girlfriend's thread.

"I hate to say it but Fuli is right. In Robyn's world and my own a group Kiara was with stole the elixir pump from Olivia and she used it for selfish reasons, and in the one Robyn's team visited during their last mission Alice and Andi had completely gone off the deep end and were murderous assassins."

"Who the hell is Andi?" Luna asked, unnerved by the news that her wife had fallen to the dark side in another world.

Ronan and Reginald exchanged surprised and nervous looks. Reginald gave a quick head shake and Ronan nodded in agreement, "No one important here, but the point is that sometimes mammals can go bad."

"I understand that, it's just that it feels like there's something missing from the picture, some piece of the puzzle that explains all of this," Luna grasped for a good metaphor. "Tragedy or no, Ryan wouldn't go from his timid old self to this...self absorbed monster just like that."

"I'm sorry, timid?" Reginald asked. Turning to Alice he followed with, "you made him sound like a second Kodi when you told us about the attack."

Alice looked to the side, "I skimmed over the details cause I wasn't interested in mammalizing the bastard that made me fight my own wife." Alice explained herself and made it clear to her wife exactly why she wouldn't be soft where the younger brother was concerned. "But yes, Ryan's costume was modeled after a stage performer because that is largely what he is; an actor. He puts on a mask of a confident jokester, and you're right to compare him to Kodi since that's who he modeled himself after, largely because he was so reserved and nervous in civilian life."

"He, he always felt a bit inadequate next to everyone else in the family and with his friends; city shaping politicians, vetern agents, a career doctor, a master hacker, a self made CEO, even Hannah was already a great marks mammal before she got powers," Luna listen off a lot of mammals, "Ryan sometimes felt like anything special about him came from his steelblood. He felt like all he had was being a decent enough technician."

"He never gave himself due credit if the current situation is anything to go by," Bella finished.

"Look," Luna steadied herself, "Ryan went bad, I'm not questioning that and I'm not going to hold back. But there's something we're still missing here, I just know it."

Away from that group, Robyn was listening in on the talk. _Luna, I know how you feel, I know what that betrayal feels like. Especially wanting to know why. I don't think the explanation is going to make things any better for you then it did for me. And your brother messed up a lot worse than anyone in Alice's group, even Kion. I just hope you realize that an answer isn't likely to change much for you._

000

_Ronan's Earth_

"We can't keep spending all of our time down here," Nick sighed after the Savages left. "I need to be at City Hall more to help with the fallout of Phelps finally going down, Judy has her Precinct to tend to, and Luna has a job and a boyfriend she's been neglecting."

The other Wildes absorbed the painful and truthful admission in silence. No one wanted to be away from the bunker, it felt like they were abandoning the belief that Ronan would make it back.

"Nick's right," Judy eventually agreed, "Ronan wouldn't want us to neglect the city just so we can sit around worrying about him."

Luna looked at her phone and scrolled through the conversations she'd had with Aleks the past few days, he was very understanding and told her to take her time, but Luna knew her father was right. She texted a message to him explaining that she'd be home tonight.

"Well it's a good thing we aren't very busy," Marian spoke up, "Anything I can do for the team I can do from right here. So there's no need for Robin and I to leave."

"Marian's right," Robin agreed, "we can set up an alert system to let the team know if anything happens while we wait."

The other three considered the options and none of them found anything truly objectionable about the plan. "Alright," Judy agreed, "just make sure that Nick and I are on that alert system, should probably keep Camelot in the loop too."

000

_Reginald's Earth_

"I think this is helping," the scared Luna said as she nervously paced around the room she and the visiting Luna were occupying. Distinguishing between the two was slightly harder then normal because scared Luna was wearing the Maiden outfit.

"Obviously you can't go around wearing a hero outfit in day to day life, but clothing like hoddies might make it easier for you to be out and about," Maiden observed.

"Maybe...so...next step?"

"Next step," Maiden pointed to the violin case on a bench near Luna. "You should really make an effort to play it every day.

"I know," Luna said very softly as she shuffled over to the case, "how are you able to focus on me with everything going on around you right now?"

'I'm a doctor, comes with the territory," Maiden explained, "Working during the aftermath of the Wave was a nightmare."

Just as Luna was about to reach for the case, there was a knock on the door, "Can i come in?" Judy's voice called.

Luna looked panicked but Maiden quickly rushed over to her, "Let's try and see if she can tell it's you," Maiden said.

"What!?"

"Just go with it," Maiden quickly rushed off to the side of the room, "come in Mom."

Judy walked in and saw the distinctive pink of Maiden's costume, "Hey sweetie."

"...hey Mom," Luna uttered.

"Just checking in, has Aaron managed to get some sleep?"

"He's, he's asleep," Luna replied, "I'm sorry I, I can't…"

"I know it's you Luna, not my daughter," Judy said calmly.

"What?" Luna turned to face Judy, and looked upon the face of her almost mother for the first time since she was a little girl. Short, humble, with eyes both strong and kind, Luna froze up at the sight.

"My daughter was speaking very loudly, I could hear her through the door," Judy explained, she flapped her ears up and down to empathize their size. "I went along with her ploy, and look at you. Is this the first time you've spoken to someone other than Victoria, Olivia or my daughter in years?"

That snapped Luna back to attention, "I, I'm sorry I...I can't do this anymore.' With a quick gasp of air Luna was gone and Andi was back in the driver's seat.

"Damn girl, you are the best thing that's happened to Luna in years," Andi smiled, also deactivating the mask in the process.

"I'm glad I could help," Luna smiled.

Before any further talking could take place, a frantic voice called, "Grandma, Grandma!" An out of breath Aaron rushed into the room.

"Aaron! What's wrong?" Judy asked as she and the two vixens gathered around the young koala.

"I know how we can get through the static stuff blocking Mom's powers!"

A brief moment's pause occured before all three ladies exclaimed, "What!"

000

_Robyn's Earth_

"I'm failing to see why this is such a big deal," Olivia stated.

"Failing to...my sister slashed my face open," Kion pointed to the stitched up scars on his face with indignation. Kion, his sister and Jasiri were visiting Alice when Olivia had unexpectedly returned to the Bunker with Blake in tow.

"Yes I understand there was a terrible accident, but you can heal it off remember?" Olivia waved her hand.

"What?" Kion asked.

"Just turn into Roar a few nights before you go to sleep and the scars will heal up," Olivia explained. "Plus your girlfriend will get to sleep on that big chiseled chest of yours."

"Olivia!" Kion shouted, aghast at the image being put in everyone's head.

"You know they've done it already," Blake spoke up.

"It's true," Jasiri admitted with a slight blush, "It's so...firm."

"Ohhh, tell us more," Alice grinned.

"This is not a conversation we are having," Kion moaned into his hands.

Off to the side of the room, Kiara leaned against the walls with the Savage family. Hannah turned to the lioness and asked, "Doesn't the elixir pump cause memory loss if you stay in it for too long?"

Kiara nodded, "Yes, but amnesia of a severe level only becomes an issue if you stay in elixir mode for a very long time, a period of several hours will only wipe blotches from said hours." The Camelot agent recalled her own spotty memory of the missions she'd undertaken in elixir mode, though she had no idea which blank periods were caused by the elixir pump in the moment, and which were caused by her time as Lily.

"So he'd only forget what he was dreaming about that night," Hannah concluded.

'Which means the problem is solved," Olivia said with a bit too much casualness for Kion and Kiara's liking. "Now then, with both the former second in command and the new leader MIA, I'm taking temporary command of things around here. Anyone have any problems with that, well tough shit, you inmates are done running the asylum."

"How would you rate that speech Skye?" Jack asked his wife.

"Seven out of ten, got the point across but not amazing," skye shrugged, earning a chuckle from Kiara.

Olivia paid the banter no mind. 'Now then, Kion's injuries aside, a lot of you haven't been eating well and group unity is at an all time low, so we're going to do something about that. Blake?"

"A group bonding activity? Olivia what are you playing at?" Hannah's voice was laidin with skepticism.

"You're all going to cook dinner together!" Blake announced, "That includes you three, he indicated Jack, Skye and Kiara."

Despite some protests, several mammals in the Bunker actually liked the idea and soon the whole group was participating. As the group was nearly all predators, most of the food was for them. Alice was at a table working on a salad for the few herbivores. Alice was keeping an eye on her babies as she sliced veggies with a knife. Kion was seated with her as he worked on grinding up the spices. As this was the first time they'd had any time with just them together since her talk with Mufasa, Alice took the time to fill Kion in on the situation. Kion looked completely demoralized by the end.

"So now even my own son is caught up in all of this," Kion muttered.

"Please don't blame Aaron for this Kion, he had no way of knowing," Alice quietly pleaded.

"I don't, it's my own damn fault for not thinking of it anyway," Kion dismissed.

"The best thing to do is to not overcomplicate this," Alice advised as she chopped up some carrots, "it's you retiring that has him so confused, he doesn't really understand the rest of the situation like Aaron let alone the adults."

"It's just, I didn't even think about how my leaving the team would look to Mufasa. I was just so focused on me and, damn it I was so selfish," Kion moaned.

"Got that right," Hannah muttered from her counter, having overheard the conversation. The blind hybrid was working with Kiara to prepare a broth for the shrimp scampi they were having.

"Oh really? Good, I was worried I'd imitate Mom in the kitchen," Kiara laughed, legitimately worried about holding her own in the cooking. "Hey, remember that time I was babysitting you and you goaded me into making pancakes for dinner?"

Hannah actually smiled at the memory, "Oh yeah! My favorite breakfast place went out of business and I wanted more flapjacks."

"You wouldn't be quiet about it," Jack teased from his station, he and his wife were working on the noodles.

"Don't get distracted Jack!" Blake called from his position overseeing the efforts. He was working with Jasiri to prepare the shrimp themselves.

All in all, it wound up being a fun time for all mammals involved, even the reluctant ones. Fond memories were recalled and no one could deny the enticing scent of the food. Talk during the meal was mostly kept to funny stories relating to various kitchen disasters like Nala's cooking, Skye's utter inability to get meats cooked right and even Blake admitting that he had a harder time getting sweats right then anything else. To the common eye Olivia and Blake's exercise was a success, but Olivia noticed Hannah's face darkened whenever Kion spoke up. Not wanting to disrupt the good mood, she waited until the meal was over and the mammals moved over to the lounge to confront Hannah.

"Hannah is something…"

"I'm sorry Olivia," Hannah blurted out, "sorry for everything in this awful mess."

That wasn't the direction Olivia was expecting, "Hannah, I forgive you but that's not…"

"It's about Kion right?" Hannah deduced, "the five of us need to actually start putting in the effort to make things better after what we did, and so far Luna's been the only one who's even tried. I'm done being nice to any of us content to just lay around and hope the problem fixes…" Hannah trailed off as a stunned look crossed her face.

"Hannah I know things aren't great right now…"

"Shhhh!" Hannah called for Olivia to be silent. The mouse's indignation quickly faded as she also heard it. A voice, very faint, and sounding like every word was being interrupted.

"...th...so...p...or...in...nt...of...ur...or."

While Olivia tried to make sense of the barely audible words, Hannah could only focus on the voice itself.

"Aaron."

000

_Ryan's Earth_

"Lo...fo...a...rd." Aaron's voice faded and Robyn had no idea what to make of it. She'd been elated to hear her son's voice. But the barely audible word's and her own inability to make sense of it sent her right back into her spot on the sofa.

_Damn it, I'm sorry Aaron_. Robyn didn't want to imagine how hard it was for Aaron to pierce through Ryan's static barrier, but it looked like the effort was going to waste. She kept quiet for a few minutes, hoping to hear Aaron again, but nothing ever came.

Robyn pulled out her phone and looked up the folder where she kept important group photos. The most recent addition was the picture that had been taken the day they'd adopted Aaron. All three mammals' faces were joyful, though Robyn recognized a tinge of sadness in both mother's expressions. Next were a pair of pictures taken in recent years after Luna and Alice were wed. The first was a family photo of the Wildes and Savages, and the second was of the then seven members of Team Ceartais in civilian garb. There were no forced smiles here; everyone's happy face was genuine; no Luna slipping into bad habits, no betrayal, no treating each other like crap, it was a momento for better times. Robyn looked over most of their faces, even Alice, and felt a heavy pang of loneliness; for the first time ever, she was completely isolated from her family. Robyn went to wipe some water from the screen and realized it was her own tears.

"I want to go home," Robyn cried weakly.

A soft hand was placed on her shoulder and Robyn turned to see Reginald taking a seat beside her. He had a pair of blankets in hand and gave one to her. A moment later a heavier presence came down on the opposite side of her. Ronan was sitting in midair for a moment before Fuli made herself visible again with a cheeky grin that got a sad laugh out of Robyn. Luna and Alice joined them next, sitting on the other side of Reginald. Clara joined them next, sitting on the opposite end of the L sofa. Regina sat next to her with Esso leaning against the large mare. Hannah took the spot next to Luna and Sirius the one next to Esso. Kodi cuddled up to his girlfriend. Rani sat in a meditation position right at the corner where the two sides met. Finally, Bella drove her mobile chair up next to one end of the large sofa and positioned herself next to Clara. If any words were actually said Robyn didn't register them, instead she focused on the comforting presence of so many allies. Ronan and Reginald reminded her that she still had family even in this dimension. As everyone settled in for a long rest before the big day tomorrow, Robyn had one thought.

_Ryan, I don't care what you have in store, tomorrow I'm going home._

AN: So maybe some comforts aren't so small.

Next Time: The battle against Ryan begins, our heroes put a plan in motion, but Ryan's ready to up his game.


	21. Chapter 20: The Broken Mirror

Over 10,000 words. Remember when Dimensions and Time chapters were 5,500 words on average? Well now at least you know why this one took an extra week, hope it was worth it, cause here we are with one of the big chapters of the story. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, favorited and followed this story, I hope this month hasn't been too terrible for all of you. Without further ado, let's get going.

**Chapter 20: The Broken Mirror**

The Zootopia Powered Mammals Research Laboratory was a deceptively large building. The lab sported a unique oval shape that gave the building a gentle curvature that made it seem less imposing. Located near the border of Savanna Central and the Rainforest District, the lab was easy to miss amidst the much taller buildings and massive trees not far from any side of it. There were a total of fifteen floors in the building; a ground floor, ten above and four below, so nearly a third of the building was hidden underground. The most distinctive feature of the lab could only be seen from above, the massive open field in the middle of the building. The grassy field was larger than several american football fields put together and was open air, though the high walls meant there wasn't usually any direct sunlight. The grassy surface resembled the teeing position at a golf course, many spots had obviously been torn loose and replaced over the years. Many of the floors surrounding the field were equipped with armored balconies to allow for safe viewing of any experiments that were held. At the end of the building opposite the front entrance was a command center that was two stories tall by itself and overlooked the field. It oversaw security and testing for the very important building. The lab was not only Zootopia's primary source of study into powered mammals and floridium in general, but also housed the tools the city had developed relating to dimensional research in more recent years. The massive number of security cameras, sensors and automotive defense systems all served to protect the building from the very real threat of attack, a threat the building had faced before and not always endured.

The building's history paralleled that of powered mammals in general to an extent. It was built late in the nineteen eighties in response to the need to know more about how powered mammals worked. The lab's reputation for being pro powered mammals and treating them fairly well during the chaotic years made it a prime target for attacks by hate groups and powered villains. The building withstood several attacks over the years, but then at the end of the decade; tragedy struck. The lab became a target for the maniac General Bombardier and in the resulting clash he had with the Mad Mammal Carnival, Melmen Girafferig was killed. The resulting rampage from Miss Fantabulous finished off what Bombardier had started and much of the original building collapsed before Alex Pyroar and Marty Zebstrika could calm their teammate.

A brave photographer captured the image that defined that day. Miss Fantabulous, burning fury on her face, covered in ash, standing in the midst of the wreckage she'd helped to cause. The iconic hero of her time standing in the ruins of a lab meant to help her and others like her, and about to take the role of executioner into her own hands. All of the hippo's warmth and confidence, gone. In the days, weeks, months and years that followed, that image worked its way into every newspaper, article and textbook having to do with powered mammal rights. It became the iconic image of the dark age of powered mammals, and was a consistent source of shame for the juggernaut hippopotamus.

For years afterwards the lab was left to rot, a combination of it's now infamous status and a string of anti-powered mammal sentiments in and out of office kept the once proud building a wreck. At one point it even was used as a base for a small name gang, and it was a particular source of embarrassment for the police when Mr. Big of all mammals drove them out first. Years later it was revealed that Fru Fru Big was a powered mammal and cared deeply for the political state of her kind. Fru Fru was unable to do much more than rely on her father until she met fellow political activist Nick Wilde, and through him the politician Judy Hopps. The Bigs had played a small but key role in revealing Lionheart's schemes, and during that time Fru Fru and Judy spoke of plans to rebuild the labs better than ever. As part of her effort to improve relationships between powered and regular mammals, Mayor Dawn Bellwether green lit the movement to reconstruct the labs. Twenty years later the building stood taller, prouder and more secure than it ever had in the nineties. Beyond all the mechanical security measures taken, the labs also had a dedicated hero team soley for defense of the labs.

All of it was now under Ryan Wilde's control. It had been a delicate process, but taking over several key mammals allowed Ryan to fast track the production of more steelblood. The process was still slow, but Ryan used that time to gradually take over the entire building. It was only recently that he'd felt comfortable taking up permanent residency in the lab, indeed, the move in was finished just before he met Robyn for the first time. The hybrid in question was presently seated in his private quarters, looking at the tubes that contained his former uniform and that of The Mage.

"Kodi, hearing your voice again yesterday, I want to say it's what threw me off but...but it wasn't just that. The other you can make portals, and fly and he's really smart and he just completely outplayed me. He, he was so cool Kodi, almost as cool as you...were...back when…" Ryan sagged down, "I know doing all of this won't bring you back, but I can make it so that no one else has to do what you did. I know it's a work in progress right now but, I know how I felt that night, if i can make any number of mammals not have to feel that then I'm doing the right thing. Even if I'll never get what I wanted." Ryan stood up, "I'll make you proud Kodi, I…"

At that moment there was a surge of light followed by darkness as all the electric lights in the room went out. Moments later the back up generators kicked in and Ryan's room was back to normal. Ryan calmly flipped the switch to conceal the two costumes before walking over to the door.

_So it begins, I want to feel smug about calling their opening move but it was SO obvious. Portal generator and a living electric battery, of course you go for the lab's electricity source. That also creates an opening in security for, oh, probably Bullet and Blade Dancer, maybe Andraste, to slip in. Mage is probably trying to use his wand to mess with the systems too._

"Ryan come in!" Marian shouted over the intercom.

"What is in Nana?" Ryan noted there was a slightly confused tone to Marian's voice. That meant something in his opponents attack plan was unusual.

"We have at least one hostile mammal in the building but the exact location is a bit hard to pin down."

"As I predicted, what else?"

"Chime and Orca have launched an attack on the PMFR HQ."

"Good move, those two have no chance of being stealthy and I have to respond in some way to that attack. Bare minimum they take some of my drones out of the picture and they're probably hoping to draw one of my aces away from the lab," Ryan grinned as he read his foe's strategy. "Not that I'll fall for that later bit. Some of them are still unaccounted for, that means they're either with the Mage and Sirius, or they're being saved as an ace for later in the operation."

"I agree Ryan," Marian said simply, "it seems Bullet has started making her way towards the lower levels."

"Another wholly predictable move," Ryan sniggered, "and I'm guessing they used the blackout to mess with our security systems?"

"Also correct, heat sensors and motion sensors are down, but the camera backup system is working just fine," Marian stated the facts.

"The irony is that they'd have been more successful with a smaller party, but you sounded confused earlier Nana, what's going on?"

"Well, it's weird but, your other dimensional siblings are at the front door. Holding a sign that says they want to talk with you."

That brought Ryan to a standstill on his way to the command center. Not because of the bizarre move but because Ryan realized that, at some point, he was actually going to have to talk with his siblings face to face.

000

The raid on the PMR Labs began with an inconspicuous car driving around Savanna Central. One blindspot in Ryan's web on intel was anything Olivia and Bella had developed in the interim between Ryan leaving the team and his takeover. Bella trashing the databases during her escape had sealed the deal. The car in question was a medium mammal sized vehicle designed for stealth missions. On the surface it was a standard dull gray four seater with a tall but somewhat short trunk. Underneath it was packed with all manner of equipment that allowed it to serve as a mini mobile HQ; none the least of which was a recreation of Kodi's hacking wand. Bella suspected that Olivia designed the vehicle to try and fill in Kodi's tech disruptor role as a means of coping with the loss of her friend. The driver's seat was much the same as any other car, and the local Clara Bloom was the one currently occupying it. The backseat contained a booster seat that, through the slightly tinted windshield, appeared to contain a standard wolf pup. In truth the seat contained Bella's travel pod with some decorations, the AI in a mouse's body was ready to begin a technological assault on the lab's security.

It was risky having Clara and Bella out in the open with no back up, but they only had fourteen mammals to work with and everyone was needed. There was a real chance this was an all or nothing raid anyway.

"Everyone's in position," Bella the back, "Sirius is about to overload the main generator."

"You'll only have a few seconds to do what you need," Clara cautioned.

"Fortunately I can get a lot done in a few seconds," Bella smiled confidently, "Ryan won't be suspecting my capabilities combined with a replica of Kodi's wand."

"Don't tell me anything once it starts Bella, I need to focus on driving." Clara asked, knowing they were in deep trouble if she crashed the car. _Kodi, watch over us okay?_ Clara silently prayed. The synchronized clocks counting down reached zero, and Clara observed the lights flicker for a few moments in the large building. Either those moments would be enough or they wouldn't, that part was out of her hands.

In another part of the city; two heroes launched an attack on their own headquarters, an attack they hoped would pull attention away from the main action. A magical wolf opened a portal into the PMR Labs to allow two sneaky heroes into the building. In front of the labs, three siblings from different worlds stepped out of the shadows and began walking towards the front door. All three had their scarfs pulled down, Ronan was also carrying his helmet at his side, Reginald had his mask and hood on, and Robyn just the hood.

"Don't come any closer!" A leopard security guard called at the three hybrids. The siblings knew she was a powered mammal, though not what her power was. Either way they respected her words and immediately stopped moving forward. Robyn unrolled a paper she had in her hand and held it up to the security camera at the guard station. The paper read: Ryan, we want to talk.

The leopard guard, named Tanya, was honestly confused by the situation. "Command I've got three costumed unknowns outside the front gate, they stopped when I asked but now they're holding up some sign to the camera. Are you getting this?"

Marian responded, though Tanya didn't know that it was her, "We're seeing it, hold position for now."

"Got it," Tanya acknowledged. _Now if only I could get what these three are. Long ears, long tails, ginger fur, they look like foxes but they've got short snouts. And I've never once seen them in any record on powered mammals. "_You three stay put, command is deciding what to do with you."

"Understood," Ronan nodded. Tanya never let her eyes leave the three, but something in her gut told her they weren't hostile.

000

"It's a trap, just not for the reason we think," Ryan guessed. Trying to logic out what her three alternate universe grandchildren were up to. "Why play the peace card when they've already thrown the first punch?"

"The other parts of their attack have been loud and obvious," Marian replied, "with the odds stacked against them the way they are, I wouldn't be surprised if they're just throwing things at the wall."

"No, they aren't stupid," Ryan countered, "bare minimum this is a distraction." Ryan looked at the stoic expressions on his three siblings and felt a new pang of dread. _I don't want to fight them! I went through all the trouble of bringing them here so we could all meet in person. I..._:, "I owe them an explanation."

Marian was caught off guard by that sudden topic change, "You owe them? Ryan, weren't you the one who told me that it was pointless to try and explain your reasonings to others?"

"Not about the steelblood, about why they're here at all," Ryan explained. "And I think I might know another reason why they're here. Mom told Luna and I that if there's a way to resolve a conflict without fighting then you should make an effort to take it. I wouldn't be surprised if they're mothers said the same thing." Ryan's face hardened, "They won't be able to talk me down from this, but they're my siblings, so I'll let them try. And I can see if any of them do see things my way." Ryan gave a weak chuckle, "I don't like being wrong, but I wouldn't mind it here."

"So you're just going to walk out of the lab and into their trap?" Marian asked. The old vixen was not used to such erratic behavior from her grandson.

"Of course not," Ryan snapped, irritated that his Nana would suggest he'd do something so foolish, "have Miss Tanya escort them to the testing field, i'll meet them there. You stick to the plan for the others and keep me updated on any new developments." The hybrid mastermind turned and headed towards the elevator.

"Home field advantage, good call," Marian stated more to herself than to Ryan. The image of Robyn, Ronan and Reginald united outside the gates still dominated her screen. _Ryan's not the only one who'd like to meet you three, I just hope you and the others have a better plan than what Ryan expects._

000

Even for two mammals who had no issues being quiet, sneaking around the PMR Lab was a very tall order. Bullet and Blade Dancer were attempting to do just that, and they had one of the most important tasks of the day: destroying Ryan's supply of his mind hacking steelblood. The idea was that they could strike a crippling blow even if they couldn't outright win on the first raid. Bullet used her pulse to keep the pair well clear of the mammals still working to return things to normal after the power surge. Slipping around hallways and staircases was made more difficult by the buildings oval shape favoring a single central hallway around the whole building, so they often had to slip to the side. While they didn't know exactly where the steelblood was being stored, they did know it should be underground.

The labs favored using the above ground floors for offices, housing and appropriate tests. The underground floors were used for storage and housing more dangerous equipment and machinery. With fewer overall entry points it was much harder to get into the underground; especially if one was breaking in. Bella and The Mage had done a sweep of the upper building from outside and confirmed there were no storage units on the above ground floors that could safely store the steelblood.

"There's more mammals on the next floor then I'd like," Bullet reported. The pair had successfully descended to floor G1; the first underground floor. It was mostly home to field test supplies, security equipment and housing for mammals who preferred to live underground. "We may need to start using the vents."

"Let's avoid that unless we have no other choice," Blade Dancer argued, "if one floor is too crowded we can skip it and circle back to it later, the more high value items tend to have fewer regular workers around them anyway."

"Alright, the stairwell to the left is deserted," Bullet informed, "on my word." Even with Bullet's reassurance Blade Dancer kept her ears open for workers; one misstep would expose them. After a tense few seconds Bullet quietly called, "go," and the two were off and down the nearest stairwell, descending further into the lab's depths.

000

Scarlet was beginning to worry their part of the plan wouldn't pan out as the minutes ticked by without anything happening. Tanya, the security officer kept a steady eye on the three, but Red noticed her eye's kept momentarily drifting over to his uncovered ears. It was a look the young hybrid was sadly familiar with. He folded his ears down, sending them dropping past his shoulders like a bunny's would. Tanya's eyebrows shot up at the movement and confirmed Red's suspicions.

"You're allowed to ask," Red spoke up. Catching his siblings and the guard unaware with the sudden statement.

"What?" Tanya asked with force.

"You do a good job hiding it, but you keep looking at my ears and our body shape," Red explained, "you want to know what we are."

The guard said nothing, but all three siblings could read her surprise at being correctly called out. Her posture remained poised and ready, but her face didn't have the same sternness to it.

"We're hybrids," Red calmly explained, "bunny mother, fox father." _She seems more curious then hostile, anything to make this waiting go by quicker._

Tanya nodded once in acknowledgment before returning to her silent stance. But before anyone could let their thoughts drift too far a voice called out.

"...ok," The four mammals looked down to see a faded image of a koala child flickering in and out of focus.

"Aaron!" Scarlet called desperately as she moved forward to kneel in front of him

"...or," Aaron's voice was very weak, and barely audible for the assembled mammals.

Tanya took an aggressive stance when Scarlet moved forward and would've attacked if Red hadn't shot to the side to prevent Crimson from advancing, "That's her son!" Red explained.

"...ur's...ord," only the tail end of Aaron's words made it through. Scarlet desperately pulled out her make up kit and pictured Aaron as hard as she could, but nothing happened and no further words were heard. Scarlet held her tears in, but hugged herself nonetheless.

"Explain," Tanya demanded in a firm but not harsh voice.

"We're from other dimensions, plural, Scarlet here was separated from her son in Crimson's dimension," Red indicated his siblings as he named them, "we're trying to get our friends and families back together, so after ending up in this world we came here."

To everyone's surprise, Tanya nodded, "Checks out, explains why I haven't seen you three in any databases. And you requested the deputy mayor's kid because you wanted an ear you knew would be sympathetic to a hybrid's plight, you must have it rough in your home worlds." The leopard's acceptance of the explanation was a stark reminder of how oddities were more frequent in this world. "I'll forgive the advancement, just don't let it happen again," Tanya continued and Scarlet took her place back in line. When Scarlet pocketed her make up kit, Tanya asked, "What's that for?"

Scarlet realized Tanya's confusion, "I can see into other dimensions through mirrors."

"Haven't seen that one before, makes sense," Tanya again surprised the trio with her blunt acceptance. A quarter minute of silence passed before Tanya suddenly spoke up, "Look for." Having predicted the puzzled looks on the hybrid's faces, she explained, "your son was saying to look for something."

Scarlet's face lit up as the leopard put some of the pieces together for her, but her excitement faded quickly, "But, why would he tell me to look? He knows there's something blocking my powers?"

"Can't answer that one," Tanya said, she suddenly raised an eyebrow, "but I did just get orders from security. I'm to escort you three to the central testing field, Mr. Wilde will meet you there." She motioned for the three to follow her and the four made their way to the front entrance. A male arctic fox exited the building as they approached and gave a brief nod to Tanya before heading to her post. The four entered the large building and Tanya announced, "Welcome to the PMR Labs, Zootopia's leaders in all manners powered mammals, and dimensional anomalies," Tanya explained with a somewhat brighter tone than she'd used before.

"Is that the, uh what was it, those circus heroes?" Crimson asked as they passed a statue depicting the Mad Mammal Carnival.

"It is," Tanya explained, "when the lab was rebuilt in the 2020's they had this placed in the lobby to remind us of the history of this building, highs and lows." Tanya brough the three to the front desk where a wildebeest receptionist awaited them. "Carlos, need pass notes for Crimson, Scarlet and…uh," Tanya paused in slight embarrassment, realizing she'd never gotten Red's name.

"Red," Red filled in.

"Got in," Carlos explained evenly, "what's going on?"

"Dimensional displaced mammals," Tanya explained.

That got the wildebeest's attention, "Yeesh that's rough, well you three came to the right place." He handed the three hybrids passes that marked them as guests.

"Thank you," Red said politely, his siblings echoing him moments later.

"You gonna be alright?" Crimson asked his sister as they once again followed Tanya's lead.

"I'll be fine," Scarlet replied, "just surprised me is all."

"With the resources and mission statement of this building you'll be home by the end of the day," Tanya reassured with a small smile, "I can all but guarantee it."

"I hope so," Red muttered.

All three siblings were aware that they probably would be getting the help they needed if the lab was running normally. Now however, Ryan was in control, and Tanya was mere words away from being another drone in Ryan's pocket. Knowing that Tanya, who had been stern but ultimately understanding and genuinely wished them well, was unknowingly guiding them to the mammal who had stolen her mind helped Scarlet refocus on the mission.

Tanya opened one more door and the three siblings entered the massive field in the middle of the lab, and they could see Ryan waiting for them in the middle. With some nods of solidarity the Wilde siblings advanced towards their brother, Tanya staying with them.

Scarlet got a good look at her fallen brother as they approached; the curly tuft of fur atop his head was a bit unkempt, but otherwise he looked semi formal with his work clothes. They weren't casual but long pants, belt and collared shirt made him look at least a little professional. What didn't make him look professional was the constant shuffling and pacing he was in the middle of doing.

"I know we both know neither of us is going to back down but, gah, no too defeatist," Ryan muttered to himself.

_Is he…_"Are you reciting greeting lines?" Robyn asked as she pulled her scarf and hood down.

Ryan went stiff, straight back and his mouth shut upon realizing that his ramblings had been overheard. He slowly creaked his head to the side and met his sister face to face. Brown eyes met amethyst, green and blue as the two sides sized each other up. It looked to Robyn like Ryan was trying to process something, and a tense silence hung in the air for a few moments before Ryan responded. "Your voice."

_Not the greeting I was expecting_, "I guess after all the fighting we're past the point of saying hello." Robyn crossed her arms, not noticing Tanya's confused looks.

To her surprise, Ryan looked embarrassed, "Sorry it's just, your voice is deeper than Luna's. I wasn't expecting that."

Reginald snorted, "Yeah well we didn't expect to be plucked from our home dimensions but we're coping alright."

Ryan faced Reginald for a moment and nodded, "Your right, and before we get to the matter at hand there's something I need to say." Ryan drew himself up a bit as he turned to face Ronan, "I know I already said this to...Kodi, but I am so sorry about what happened to Fuli, that should never have happened."

Ronan sent a hard glare at Ryan, "There's a lot about this situation that shouldn't have happened, my girlfriend almost dying isn't even the worst of it."

Tanya,not prepared for the direction the talk was taking, let out a confused "What?".

Ryan barely paid the guard a sideways glance, "You shouldn't be here, be a drone." Tanya's confused face went blank and her posture became stiff and still.

All three siblings were a bit unnerved by how quickly their helpful guide was replaced with a mindless drone. _I had enough of this with the Drowned_, Robyn though as she had some unwelsome flashbacks to her early days as Scarlet.

"Case and point," Ronan gestured at Tanya.

Ryan's face hardened, "We both know that, as badly as we want it, neither side is going to back down here. So, why are you here? You aren't being subtle about being a distraction, one that isn't working for the record, and you wouldn't put yourself at such a risk just for the off chance of talking me down."

"We want answers," Reginald bluntly replied.

Robyn sighed, "how did you bring us here, and why?"

Ryan's face lit up in recognition, the flustered hybrid quickly collected himself. "I suppose I do owe you an explanation and none of your allies have made any new moves yet." Ryan began pacing back and forth in front of the other three, "Now how best to explain, I guess the how is easier to start with. Are any of you familiar with the science of interdimensional travel?" Ryan got the expected trio of handshakes to confirm a negative, "Okay then, just bare in mind that I'm using terms that you'll understand when describing this, they aren't actually what goes on."

"Okay," Robyn replied. All three hybrids were used to the laymen's tech terms speech due to being around Olivia as often as then were.

Ryan nodded, "So there's a dimension, then there's the space between dimensions that prevents them from rubbing up against one another."

"I've been there before," Robyn noted.

"When you traveled to Doom's world, that mad bastard hid his prison there. Clever, awful, but clever," Ryan noted. "Anyway there's also a, and reminder this is just me trying to visualize it, bubble around a dimension. It's basically a layer of protection against the space between more than anything else. This lab's dimensional thinner basically pushed that barrier outwards and can have it intersect with another bubble."

"Which is why we haven't run into that between dimensions place all this time," Robyn realized.

"You pick things up quick sis," Ryan smiled. "The first time we met in the mirror, which was all you to be clear, I had the labs remember the dimensional signal."

"And that let you create a portal," Reginald concluded.

"Not quite," Ryan corrected, "we can shorten the gap, but we can't actually open the way, something else needs to do that."

"Robyn's powers," Ronan realized. "You've been using your thinner on your own world and wherever Robyn wound up the whole time, she just got distracted the first time you tried to get us here. And we haven't been able to get home because of that static."

Ryan smiled, "He gets it in one. As for the static, it's there because the bubbles don't compress as quickly as they expand, without it Robyn would've been able to get herself home fairly easily."

"But why go through all the effort of bringing me here at all!?" Robyn demanded, "I wanted to have my brothers as much as any mammal, but all of this..."

"I...admit that this was a selfish move on my part," Ryan admitted with less confidence then before, "I intend to spread my protection to more than this world but...well that justification came later on. Initially I just wanted mammals to be with again, and I couldn't turn to my team after they got Kodi killed."

"If you think we're gonna let you infect our worlds…' Reginald started to say.

"I don't think you'll let me but it will happen because you can't stop me," Ryan snapped at Reginald's attempt at gusto, "I don't want to hurt you Reginald, or Robyn or Ronan or anyone else, but I will if it means less mammals get hurt in the future."

"That's how you justify doing this to mammals!?" Ronan yelled as he pointed to Tanya, "stripping them of their free will any instant, reprogramming them to suit your needs!"

"They won't be aware of it, and once there isn't any more resistance there won't be much need for that level of control," Ryan shrugged, "as for the reprogramming, that can be lessened as the need declines. And frankly? None of that outweighs the boon of protecting mammals from their own foolishness, I figure you three could relate to that."

"What do you mean?" Reginald growled.

"Nana screwed over her family when she got addicted to being the Maid, Dad grew up the way he did because of that! Robyn, Ronan, your M. started Ceartais as a means to recreate themselves but better, but they recruited freaking sixteen year olds and of course one of them went off the rails. Your big sister messed herself up so badly she developed a split personality! Kiara stole the elixir pump and we all know how that turned out for all of those worlds. Reginald, your sister would never have been traumatized if your Dawn had steelblood to incapacitate her if she tried anything fishy! And Robyn, your team would have caught Ronin and Andi without the team falling in on itself if they were cooler heads in command to reel in everyone's hot heads! My Kodi would still be alive if even one of my team had been more pragmatic in TNTiger's assault! And you're telling me that some brief periods of loss of free will aren't worth it to stop all of that!"

Ronan was ready to give a furious response when Robyn spoke up, "Yeah, I get it."

"What!" Reginald demanded.

"Uh, Robyn?" Ronan asked in confusion.

"You...do?" Ryan asked, not believing he had a sympathetic ear.

"Look, I've spent the past month more miserable than I've ever been in my life. One bad thing led to another and before I even knew what was happening my sister fell into bad habits and did something insanely stupid and risky. Then my sister in law, my best friend, one of my oldest friends and my freakin wife do something even stupider and they're so caught up in being angry that they treat Olivia and I like complete shit with no remorse. When there were so many ways they could've avoided it. And most of them have spent the last month on some highrock refusing to admit they'd fucked up even when no one took they're side. I don't think the team will ever recover fully, things will never go back to the way they were and, honestly, I doubt I'll ever forgive Kion for being such a selfish dick." Robyn wiped a tear from her eye as she admitted her feelings about her former friend to herself, but collected herself and continued. "When I think of all the damage that's been done, all the damage that can't be undone, yeah...I see where you're coming from Ryan."

Ryan had a small frown on his face, sad to hear first hand that his sister's team was in an even worse state then his was. Ronan and Reginald looked at each awkwardly, neither wanting to speak up after Robyn's emotional confession. Ryan wanted to reach out a hand to Robyn, but he could tell the other shoe had yet to drop, "But…"

"But eventually they were able to get over themselves, mostly," Robyn smiled lightly. "Alice came to my home to try and make up, when she really didn't have to since she's got those babies to look after. Kodi, just yesterday, he apologized for everything, and was even able to tell why he'd messed up and was so damn stubborn about admitting it. Mammals can learn from their screw ups, and they can get better from them, especially when held to task." Robyn's face morphed into a hard glare, "But they're never gonna do that if some self absorbed actor is making all the calls for them!"

"Self absorbed!?' Ryan screamed, "you little…"

"I'm older and taller than you bro," Robyn interrupted, "and I learned something from meeting all of my brothers. We can be our own worst enemy, and admitting that is hard. So tell me Ryan," Robyn started to advance, "what gives you the right to decide who gets enslaved or not, to be the one making all the practical decisions, when you're just as capable of screwing up?"

Ryan stood his ground, "You got the upper hand on me yesterday due to completely unknown factors, it's impossible to account for them."

"Oh but I'm not talking about that," Robyn got right up in Ryan's face, "I'm talking about the fact that Kodi would still be alive if you had hoped into one of your fancy cars when there were only a few bombs left and you saw that Kodi's was still active!"

Ryan's eyes widened in shock at the accusation, then they narrowed, he grit his teeth, howled in rage, his fist flew forward and smashed right into Robyn's waiting paw. She'd easily predicted his attack.

"The only answer you have is to try and punch your way out," Robyn replied calmly. "I think that concludes negotiations." Robyn sent out a lightning quick sucker punch of her own that connected right with Ryan's face.

"Agreed," Ronan said as he put his helmet on. Reginald and Robyn did the same with their hoods and all three pulled their scarfs up.

Ryan jumped to his feet, his own healing factor allowed him to shrug off the punch. His face was twisted by rage and he spoke with pure venom, "Well if that's the case, allow me to show just how badly your friends are doing." A large TV screen along the inner walls of the building lit up and displayed some security camera footage that made the three heroes gasp.

000

The room containing the steelblood was indeed on floor G3, so Bullet and Blade Dancer had been right to skip floor G2. With solemn nods the two used a stolen pass to open and close the door, "Only three mammals inside, one near two far." Bullet called their targets. Blade Dancer raced forward and used the energy field around her sword to send the beaver near the entrance to dreamland. Bullet fired a duo of suppressed shots from her gun and the arctic vixen and deer further into the large room went down.

"All clear," Bullet announced.

"Sending signal," Blade Dancer stated. An electronic beacon was activated by the bunny. Bella picked up the signal from outside and relayed the information to the waiting Mage, who had found a secure hiding place on one of the upper floors along the feild's perimeter. He'd been listening in on the Wilde sibling's talk but quickly left to collect Sirius and join the two down on G3. He traced the portal to Alice's location. He hung back by the open portal while Sirius advanced on the cylinder containing the drone creating steelblood. The golden wolf took a deep breath before sending out a massive electric blast. The surge overwhelmed the machinery, caused some small explosions and obliterated the steelblood.

The four mammals barely had a moment to celebrate when a series of nearly translucent white tendrils shot out from the back of the room. Sirius was ensnared before she even knew what hit her. Bullet tried to dodge but the tendrils formed a sphere and trapped her too. Blade Dancer was able to dodge initially by phasing through the attacks, but she was trapped the moment her phase ran out. Only the Mage saved himself by throwing up his forcefield.

"What is…" Sirius trailed off, feeling weak and numb, especially where the tendrils made contact with her.

"Mom," Bullet stated with fear.

The arctic vixen and the deer at the back of the room stood up, their disguises having masked their identities. Skye Savage kept her focus as she used her numbing tendrils to prod Mage's shield. The three captive mammals were lifted into the air. The deer had the blank face of the drones, it was Chester Hornsworth; one of the powered criminals who worked with TNTiger. He had his own forcefield up around Skye to prevent the Mage from attacking her.

Skye wore a deep scowl on her face, "Were you really dumb enough to think we'd leave the only supply of steelblood so undefended? You destroyed a decoy, barely a set of arrowheads worth." Skye locked her eyes on her helpless daughter, "You are such a disappointment."

"I'll save you Mom," Bullet tried to stay strong but the numbing tendrils made it difficult.

"Kodi, get out of here!" Sirius called, "the serum will protect us." Already Hornsworth had advanced far enough to trap Bullet and Sirius behind his shield as well.

The Mage weighed his options. His shield was holding the energy tendrils out, but it was putting a drain on the batteries and there was still a lot of operation to get through. The sound of footsteps from behind told him he needed to retreat. _Don't count me out of tricks yet!_ "I'll be back later!" With a flick of the wrist, Mage's demon card shot forward and grabbed Blade Dancer, ripping her free of the tendrils which had no effect on it. The Mage called his card back to him and retreated, his portal closing behind him.

000

The Wilde siblings breathed a collective sigh of relief when their key member escaped, but Ryan quickly snapped his fingers and the screen shifted to show a scene at the PMFR HQ. The lobby had been torn up by a battle, one where copious amounts of water and sonic blasts had been thrown around. But now it was over; a mare and a lynx were kneeling on the floor, bound by thick tree branches from a costumed deer standing off to the side. The heroes were fitted with nullifying collars that suppressed their powers.

"This happened while we were talking earlier," Ryan's grin radiated smugness, "I hope you weren't counting on me sending any of my big guns after them, oh those disappointed faces tell me you were. Speaking of which." Ryan snapped his fingers and a section of the field behind the trio opened to allow an elevated platform to rise up. Robyn, Ronan and Reginald's heart's sank; it was a goliath white lion with a red mane. Roar bellowed at the three before charging.

"Crimson go after Ryan!" Red shouted as he and Scarlet prepared to fight the lion. Both hybrids had a Roar on their teams and had practiced with them. This meant they had a pretty good idea of how screwed they likely were, but also what small chances they had to fight back. "Scarlet, you know his weak spots!" The two heroes jumped to the side in opposite directions, forcing Roar to choose only one target. He went after Red, arms outstretched to use his massive size to block off Red's escape. The sergeant tried to dive under Roar's legs but was grabbed himself as he leaped forward. Roar slammed the hybrid into the ground twice in rapid succession before bringing him up to his face.

"Alright shrimp this isn't gonna kill you but even you're gonna feel this!" Roar snarled as he drew his fist back. Scarlet seized the moment to jump up and kick Roar's fist, knocking it and the lion off balance. She bounced back and landed on Roar's head, quickly slamming her fist into the one weak spot she could access; his eyes. With a cry of pain Roar dropped Sergeant Red and stumbled away.

"You okay?" Scarlet asked as she got Red to his feet.

"Yes, but we need a plan."

"I'm fresh out," Scarlet moaned in frustration.

"And I'm out of grenades, never got to resupply after Phelps base," Red pointed to his barren belt. "But do you remember what you tried to do to Phelps?"

"You mean the...SHIT!" Scarlet and Red realized too late they were lined up to be hit by Roar's namesack attack. The two were flung across the field, eardrums blown out and aching pains all over their bodies. That very distance wound up saving them though; Roar was unable to close the distance to them before their healing let them recover enough to dodge. Even with that lucky break, the two knew that Roar would best them in a stamina contest.

000

Ryan went through the state of the battle, if it could even be called that, in his head while he dodged The Crimson Banshee's attacks.

_Esso, Regina, Hannah and one Clara are out, my siblings are right here with me, Clara two and Olivia are probably on tech support with whatever they showed Bella into, Kodi got away with Alice and Fuli's a civilian. Only Luna and Rani left unaccounted for._ Ryan somersaulted over Crimson's next chage and started running in the opposite direction. _They probably weren't planning on winning today, just taking out some high value targets._

"I'd say this fight is a microcosm of your attack on this lab as a whole wouldn't you?" Ryan taunted, "me outpacing you at every turn." Crimson made no attempt to reply and just charged again. That was the one thing unnerving Ryan, Crimson hadn't spoken a word since the fight started. _I won't deny he's doing a lot to sell the whole ghost gimmick_, Ryan grinned, _challenge accepted, let's see if I can make you speak._ "You know I thought Clara had to be speaking from ignorance when she called you a brute, but you really are nothing but raw force and no finesse, is it any wonder Robyn and Ronan ran rings around you?" No response from Crimson, just another charge. "And with me making this into a comedy routine I guess we know which sibling is the weakest!" Still all Crimson did was charge and stay silent."Can you even face Mom and Dad with how much of a screw up you are!?" Only more charges. _Alright this is boring, skipping to the ace card. _

"You know I'm aware that you're trying to distract me, right?" That did get a pause out of Crimson. "C'mon, it's only a matter of time before," Ryan was interrupted by a sonic blast up above. Multiple panels in the command center's windows were shattered by an unseen force. "And there's Luna to try and take and out the command center, another high value target," Ryan smiled at his correct prediction. Crimson had taken a stance like he was ready to pounce, but Ryan knew he was easy to dodge, "Your plans are as easy to read as mother goose and GAH!"

Rather than pouncing, Crimson had dug his hand into the field and flung a chunk of dirt right into Ryan's mouth. As Ryan attempted to spit it out, Crimson leaped forward and smashed his steel covered fist into Ryan's mouth. Ryan was sent flying back and swallowed some of the dirt in the process. Unlike Roar, The Crimson Banshee was able to close the distance quickly and landed another punch. Ryan absorbed several more punches before he sat up suddenly and slammed his head into Crimson's jaw. The sound of bone's crunching accompanied Crimson falling away. Ryan stood up, his healing mending his bloody and bruised face. "Alright, this show's been going on long enough, it's curtains time!' Ryan declared as he pulled out his phone and pressed a button.

000

Andratse and Blade Dancer wasted no time jumping through the shattered windows of the command center. As soon as the Mage had reunited the two they'd moved to attack the vital location. They were improvising a bit at this point since Skye had cost them two team members, but Robyn and her brother's distraction had at least succeeded in getting Ryan out of the command center.

The married duo took stock of their opposition; there was Marian herself at the central station in the middle, two security guards and the dozen or so computer workers still recovering from the sonic arrow and shattered glass. The first to attack were, predictably, the security guards. The panther guard drew unnaturally long claws and the stallion guard took in a deep breath before letting out a blast of icy wind from his mouth. The pair didn't even need to look at each other to know who their opponents would be.

Andraste fired a flare arrow straight into the ice breath spray; it cluttered to the ground short of it's target but the heat seared a hole in the cloud that let the following teaser arrow fly straight and true. Blade Dancer closed the distance with the large clawed panther and drew her sword. Just as they were within striking distance of one another, Dancer hurled a kunai up at her opponent's face. The panther dodged but that left him unable to dodge the swing from Dancer's energy clad sword. Both guards landed on the ground unconscious.

"Really sorry about this Nana" Dancer said as she leapt at the older vixen.

A pained grimace crossed Marian's face, having to fight her granddaughter in law so soon after she started calling her Nana was extremely upsetting. "I'm sorry too sweetie." A barrier formed between Marian and Dancer and the latter collided with it, first with her sword and then her face. Blade Dancer was knocked a few feet away from the central station, the energy field on her sword flickered but held and cracks were made in her mask. Andraste's stun arrow was also repelled and bounced away. A small otter emerged from under the desk, blank eyes on both heroines. Felicia Otterton, the mayor's personal bodyguard, stood ready to defend the central station.

Andraste prepared another sonic arrow, knowing that Felicia's reflection barriers only worked on physical attacks, when a ping was heard from the elevator in the back. The doors opened to reveal two familiar mechs. "Spitfire mechs!" Andraste shouted as she dodged a spray of tranq darts, not trusting her armor to protect her from any improvements Ryan may have made.

"Merde!" Dancer cursed as she sliced the incoming darts to pieces. The mechs steadily advanced on the duo with barrages of darts, laser blasts and rubber bullets coming the whole time. Andraste and Blade Dancer dodged or deflected every attack, but they were losing ground. Any hope of turning the fight around was dashed when another ping was heard and the elevator opened to reveal another pair of mechs.

"Get ready to jump!" Andraste shouted as she fired a grapple arrow at the ceiling. Blade Dancer fired a blast from the energy cannon in her arm at the mech attacking her wife, hitting it in the arm right as it was about to shoot. The mech's arm exploded, lightening the barrage long enough for the two to make the jump out the broken window.

The duo were greeted with an unusual sight as they exited the command center; a pair of smaller flying drones were raising from the field to meet them. Like the original Spitfire mech they were insectoid themed; in this case resembling legless beatles with weapon pods instead of legs. Ryan hung from the bottom of one and he smirked as the drones took aim at the midair duo.

"Sorry mi amore!" Blade Dancer called as she kicked into Andraste's gut for forward momentum. The thrust sent Andraste off course and out of the drone's line of fire even as she had the wind knocked out of her. Dancer dove towards the Ryan-less drone, deflecting some tranq darts in the process, and landed on top of it. A swift slash with her sword to the drone's head sent the machine careening out of control, but not before Dancer jumped off of it and attacked the other drone with a similar slash. The strike severed the drone's head, but Blade Dancer had no place to land this time.

Blade Dancer lost her grip on her sword as she plummeted to the ground many stories below, but she managed to keep her cool as she knew she had a friend waiting. The Crimson Banshee leapt high into the air and intercepted the falling bunny. Ryan had no such luck and he hit the ground hard. Both drones collided with the walls of the field and exploded, one of them not very far from where Andraste had landed. Ryan let his healing run its course as he lay in agony from the fall, only hoping he could get to his feet before Crimson and Blade Dancer caught up to him. The drone he'd been on had at least carried him far away from the two pursuing him before it crashed.

Crimson once again went after Ryan while Blade Dancer retrieved her sword. The sword mammal looked up to see that her wife had climbed to safety on one of the higher floors. She considered racing up to her before she remembered the dire situation her other teammates were in.

Blade Dancer turned but then stopped as she beheld the battle on the other side of the field. Sergeant Red and Scarlet both leapt at Roar head on, dodging his large arms as they swung at them. The two went for the head, but the lion assumed that they were trying to attack his eyes again. Instead the two simply hopped over his shoulders and down his back. Roar's misreading of their actions cost him valuable seconds, he tried to grab the two on either side of his head and instead grasped thin air. Scarlet slid down first and put her full weight into pulling down Roar's belt. The elixir pump was exposed and Red used his last cryo pod on it as he joined his sister. The victorious pair jumped away while Roar let out a pained bellow as the frozen pump induced a forced transformation back into Kion.

They were on the other side of the field, but Blade Dancer could easily see the toll the fight had taken. Both hybrids could heal and Scarlet's uniform did the same, but Red's uniform had multiple impact induced tears and both fighters were covered in dirt.

_It needs to happen soon_, Dancer thought to herself.

000

_Ronan was right, not fighting is the hardest part of this whole thing._ The Mage tried to distract himself from his unease as he waited for the final piece of their attack plan to come into effect. The Mage wanted to help Scarlet and the others down in the field, but he was their only escape route and they couldn't risk exposing him in an area this heavily defended. _We already failed to take out the command center, if this doesn't work then all of this was for nothing. We already have to save two mammals on top of…,_ Mage's thoughts were interrupted by a shout of confusion from the field.

000

"What!" Ryan shouted, drawing everyone's eye's to him and bringing the advancing Crimson to a halt. Ryan had been struggling to sit up when he'd gotten a distressed call from Marian. The display screen flared to life again and showed a storage tube similar to the one Sirius destroyed earlier but much bigger. It was security feed for the actual steelblood storage room, located on the crowded Floor G2. "Nana what are you doing!? They'll see…" Ryan's question was brought to a screeching stop when a mammal materialized out of thin air in the middle of the room. It was a cheetah in a tattered longcoat, and she was carrying a canister with some holes along the sides in her hands. She spared a half second to shoot a devilish smirk at the security camera.

"It's Fuli!" Ryan heard Marian announce through his ear piece.

"But she doesn't have powers!" Ryan called back.

"They must've used floridium to heal her injuries," Marian realized. Before either mammal could remark on lucky a win that was for Fuli, the cheetah opened her canister and a pillar of flames erupted out. Fuli's grin was given a fiery illumination as Pyre rematerialized after spending over half an hour maintaining her flame form inside Fuli's canister. The lioness wasted no time morphing herself into a fire twister around the containment tube. While not as effective as Sirius's lighting, Pyre's fire did the job and Ryan could only watch as his whole supply of steelblood was melted away.

Ryan put the pieces of his opponent's plan together as he witnessed the fire attack play out. _The initial blackout, Robyn, Ronan and Reginald getting the door open, all of it was to get Fuli into the building undetected. They knew I'd split the steelblood!_

"You used every resource you had to distract me from your real secret weapon, the only thing you had that I had no way of knowing about. I'm impressed, furious, but impressed," Ryan spoke in a quiet monotone.

"Portals!" Marian called.

Ryan smiled, _checkmate Kodi_.

Four portals opened at once around the PMR Labs. One with Fuli and Pyre, one by Andraste higher up, one by Scarlet and Red, and one by Blade Dancer and Crimson. That was the moment that Ryan sprung his trap. Before any mammal could move towards their portals a figure suddenly appeared near Scarlet. It was Tanya, the leopard security guard had been forgotten in the melee following her being turned into a drone. Ryan could only imagine the horror on his sister's face as one of his key drones unveiled her short range teleportation powers to appear next to one of the portals. A loud sonic grenade left Tanya's hand and entered the portal before Scarlet tackled her to the ground. It was too late.

Ryan had correctly called that his opponents would try to use Mage's portals as their getaway ticket, and The Mage was frankly the only mammal Ryan saw as a major threat. Ryan knew that The Mage would have to stay close to the action to cast his portals properly, and the hallways of the PMR Labs didn't offer much room to hide. Tanya's sonic grenade went off and Mage's shield did nothing to protect him from the sound attack. He lost his concentration and the portals closed before anyone could use them. Even worse, the sonic blast gave away The Mage's hiding spot and every guard, agent and security turret that had been lying in wait for just that moment opened fire on the magic wolf.

Ryan was treated to a front row seat of his plan unfolding as The Mage was forced to take flight to avoid getting overwhelmed on the ground, but that just tightened the noose further. Now out in the open air, even more of the security turrets had a clean shot at The Mage, who was spending too much time dodging and using his wand to try and fight back to open any portals.

The attacking mammals were trapped.

"I admit you caught me off guard once or twice," Ryan mocked The Crimson Banshee, who was still close by, "but the minute I called your escape plan you lost." Ryan said this as all many of the drone's he'd created for himself appeared on the field. Other heroes, powered criminals like Hornsworth, many an MCB agent and ZPD officer, more Spitfire mechs and beetle drones, all under his command.

Crimson charged Ryan again, but a loud shot rang out and Crimson's leg exploded in a spray of blood. He screamed in pain as his broken leg gave out right as his other leg was lifted. "I finally got you to make a noise Regi," Ryan gloated as Crimson's leg healed up. He tried to stand again but this time his arm was shot when he tried to prop himself up. The Crimson Banshee couldn't see it, but Scar the lion assassin was amongst Ryan's drones. He had a sniper rifle trained on the hybrid, and no matter how many times Crimson tried he would always be shot back down.

Blade Dancer was quickly surrounded by more beatle drones hovering above her, she prepared to go on the offense but saw a sight that horrified her. The Spitfire mechs that had countered them in the command center had followed Andraste to her ledge and overwhelmed her. One mech carried her gear while another carried the weakly struggling vixen down to the ground. Blade Dancer looked around and saw more drones emerge from the upper floors, more guards from below and her allies being overwhelmed. "There's too many of them," Blade Dancer realized in despair. As if to mock her, one of the drones fired a single rubber bullet at her face and shattered her already cracked mask. The geisha mask fell to the ground in pieces and nothing hid the defeated look on Alice's face.

Sergeant Red had turned to face the oncoming horde with his tranq gun while Scarlet injected Tanya with one of her syringes of the cure. The tranqs worked on the stray cop or agent Red managed to hit, but any powered mammal had been given the tranq immunity Ryan had created. Leading the attack on the two hybrids were Rough and Rumble, the rhino villains Miss Fantabulous had taken down the night of TNTiger's bombing. Rough could make his skin hard as steel while Rumble could vibrate his body and produce attacks that felt more like drills then punches. Red prepared to jump up and back to escape, but a spray of bullets preceded Rough's punch and tripped Red up. His eyes widened as Rough's fist collided with his shoulder in a downward punch, cracking his goggles, knocking his gun from his hand and sending him face first into the dirt. Rumble placed his large hand over Red's back and a surge of violent vibrations got a scream of pain from the immobilized hero.

Scarlet tried to jump forward and help Red, but as she took off from the ground a strong root snared her ankle. Wildhorn and the other PMFR mammals had arrived, with Orca and Chime in tow. The two had power nullifier collars around their necks and looked horrified at the state of the affairs on the field. With a sharp series of hand gestures, Wildhorn guided his root to slam Scarlet into the ground repeatedly, before tossing her high into the air. Just as she was about to hit the ground, Rough rushed forward and delivered a brutal uppercut to Scarlet's chest. Scarlet felt every rib she had break as she was flung far away from the action and landed with a hard tumble in the center of the lay on her back in total agony for several seconds as her healing worked hard to repair the damage. She tried to catch her breath, something that was hard to do when every breath hurt. As she shifted around to get back on her feet, she felt something crack in her pocket. She reached down and pulled out the make up kit she'd received back in Ronan's world, but now the mirror had been cracked into three somewhat equal sized pieces. While Scarlet's eyes traced the fractures, one vertical and one diagonal, she realized that the fight had gone silent.

Looking around the testing field made it clear that they had lost. Sergeant Red and The Crimson Banshee were pinned down. Blade Dancer and The Mage were surrounded. Bullet, Sirius, Pyre, Orca, Chime, Andraste and Fuli were bound by collar, handcuff and other restraints. Those that weren't there already were marched onto the field so the defeated could all see each other. The Mage hovered above Scarlet, his shield barely holding at this point.

"Robyn, Kodi," Ryan called, "you've lost, your friends are captured, and I hold every advantage. I don't want to hurt any of you anymore then necessary, so please just give up now."

Scarlet was on her hands and knees, _It can't end like this, there has to be something, Hannah, Aaron, Mom, Dad, Luna...Alice...I'm sorry, I can't think of anything!_

"Lo…" Scarlet looked down and saw her son standing in front of her; his image was almost transparent at this point, and nothing past the first syllable was audible.

"What are you trying to tell me Aaron?" Scarlet cried.

_Look for…, _Tanya's earlier words came back to Scarlet. _Lo, fo, a, so, that was the first time, and ok, or, ur's, ord was the second._

While Scarlet tried to puzzle out her son's message, The Mage looked down and glimpsed his oldest friend kneeling before the barely visible form of her son. Without a moment's hesitation he dispelled his shield, aimed his wand at Ryan and summoned glowing rings of energy around his wrists. The memory of Marian and Robin's deaths in his world came back to him, they faced certain doom in their final moments but saved the day and all of Zootopia anyway. Drawing on that same courage, Kodi Jones shouted their last words, "Oo-de-lally!"

A swift flick of his wand caused Marian's end of her radio link with Ryan to short out, breaking one line of Ryan's communication. "So be it," Ryan sighed.

_Look for a, ur? What's a ur? Skip it. So ord, sord, sword! Look for a ur's sword, a ur's sword, Arthur's sword! Look for Aurthur's sword! _Memories of the blade that had obliterated drones, sliced through Doctor Doom's armor and sealed a massive dimensional rift came back to Scarlet's mind. _If anything can save us._

Scarlet placed her broken mirror on the ground and pictured the sword Excalibur as hard as she could, and for the first time she saw something through the static. The sword was seated on a table outside of its usual stand, but what really drew Scarlet's eye was the unusual bright blue glow the sword was giving off. _Does it know?_

"Ryan, something's breaking through the dimensional static," Marain called over the lab's intercom, no longer able to use her direct link. The Mage looked down and spotted the glow as well.

"What, well power it up!" Ryan screamed back, disbelieving that his barrier had been breached.

Scarlet watched as the image on the sword faded for a moment, then the sword glowed brighten, as bright as it had when sealing Doom's rift. The Mage threw a wind barrier underneath him and Scarlet ducked down while keeping her eye's on the mirror.

Excailiber was a very powerful tool, and one way that manifested was in that it could defend itself from harm. The sword had detected Ryan's dimensional static from the beginning, and now it unleashed all it's built up power after Ryan's direct attack on it. The massive energy pulse went three ways. Some of it went into the Bunker by virtue of it being where the sword currently was. Much of it went to the space between dimensions to destroy the static and trace it to its source. But thanks to Scarlet's mirror, a lot of that energy went into creating a massive circular pulse that expanded out from the center of the field. Every mammal was blown down, turrets were short circuited and mechs were knocked from the sky. Only The Mage was prepared and his wind barrier prevented anything worse than him being thrown higher into the air.

Scarlet paid no mind to the havoc she'd unleashed, she instead got her head back in front of the mirror as soon as she could. In her mind she visualized a somewhat dingy but large circular room that a team of heroes and a team of agents had used as headquarters in their battle with a mad buisness mammal, an underground layer located beneath a large office building which a group of vigilantes used as their base, and a familiar base of her own that, though it had many descriptions, was being thought of by Scarlet in that moment as home.

The three separate pieces of the make up kit's mirror each showed a different world, and already their borders were glowing blue. Scarlet placed her hand at the mirror's base and one finger slipped into each of the portals, bridging the gap and allowing Scarlet to hear confusion and panic on the other ends.

"Everyone! We need backup now!" Scarlet called as loud as she could into the three portals. Before she'd even finished talking a stripped vixen wielding twin guns and a shotgun had leapt through the middle portal. Scarlet's eyes followed her wife into the air, not noticing how she'd come through a space far too small for her to fit, nor that she'd taken her eye's off the mirror but the physical contact of her fingers was keeping them open anyway.

All Scarlet cared about was that her wife was here, and the sound of footsteps meant more were coming.

Next Time: The Stars Align.


	22. Chapter 21: The Stars Align

It's been a long month.

I of course mean that in more ways than one. I like to imagine I don't need to explain that to anyone reading this fic. Zootopia is a movie about self examination in the face of an unkind world, and the Take a Stand series is unashamedly pro LGBTQIA+, more so then a lot of series to be honest. But still, I'm making my stance clear, black lives matter and there needs to be change now. It's been hard to find time to focus on this story and be in the right headspace for it, especially since this is nearly 20,000 words long. But it's here and I hope it gives all of you something to enjoy in these trying times. Thank you so much to everyone who followed, favorited and reviewed Dimensions and Time so far, and let's get rolling.

**Chapter 21: The Stars Align**

The Mage was flung high into the air by the pulse from Scarlet's mirror, but he'd been prepared for it and recovered quickly. Floating at nearly the eighth story of the PMR Labs gave him a good view of the damage that had been done. Nearly everyone was knocked to the ground and many mechs and turrets had been destroyed. Every window was shattered, including the ones for the command center.

_Can't save everyone with a portal, we need to capitalize on this quickly…_

"Everyone, we need backup now!" Scarlet called from down below.

Before Scarlet had even finished her call, a figure emerged from the blue light. She was a white vixen like hybrid with beautiful stripes along her face and tail. She had blue and silver armor including a large blue mask there hid her milky eyes. In her hands were her pair of tranq pistols inked by a large cabal and she had the acid shell shotgun she'd 'borrowed' from the Champion's universe. Hannah Wilde Savage: Prime Bullet.

Less then a second later another figure emerged. A red vixen weilding a high tech bow and wearing an advanced protection full pink and grey bodysuit. Her mask hid her full eyes but did display their natural amber color. Her pink hood was up and she already had an arrow notched on her bow. Luna Wilde: Maiden.

Right behind Maiden was a bunny garbed entirely in a black sneaking suit, complete with a lower face covering black cloth and an ear concealing tight hood. A pair of goggles hid much of what little of her white fur was visible, but they did not hide her striking golden eyes. She was armed with a handgun, a belt of kunai and a katana sheathed in a red scabbard. Alice Kirabito: Slash.

The Mage did some math in his head, _Even if all four teams are here in full, we're still outnumbered and surrounded_. Scarlet and her portals were almost in the middle of the massive field, facing the back of the PMR Labs and thus the command center. To Scarlet's back was the entrance where the Powered Mammal First Responders unit had arrived. Off to their right was a staircase and elevator entrance where Skye had emerged with their captured allies.

The roar of engines sounded from below as a mech suit emerged and flew up. It had a dark olive green hue and a sleek aerodynamic design. It was about the size of an average lion and armed with anti infantry and anti mech weapons. It's huel was marred by numerous scars gathered from battling Phelps' machines and mercenaries. Olivia Dawson: Spitfire.

Right behind Spitfire, another mech emerged from the blue light. This was much bigger, especially in the chest and shoulder area. It had a pair of small backwards facing horns along the side of its spherical head and its arms were topped off with large fists. It had a lighter green and white color scheme and was geared towards fighting other machines, especially energy weapons. When it was rebuilt after the battle with Doom the cockpit was removed since the mech was now being controlled by the team's AI. Bella: Spitfire.

_Guess we're taking a stand here,_ The Mage smiled as he whipped his wand towards the ground. The nullifying collars on several of their allies' necks came open and fell to the ground, and two of them immediately took advantage of that.

The first was a large mare dressed in black gear that resembled a scuba suit, she also wore goggles, a fabric undershirt that resembled white bandages and a pair of half dress like frills on her hips that resembled fins. She called on her water control powers to create a wave on solid ground which she thrust back at her controlled teammates. Regina Lowell: Orca.

Off to the far right of the field, a golden furred she wolf summoned a surge of electric energy to her hands. She wore a purple and yellow skin tight fabric suit that went from her chest to her hips. She also had shoulder length arm gloves and knee length boots topped off with spikes. A purple scarf and domino mask completed her look. She flew up a few feet off the ground and unleashed her energy not as beams but as a more flimsy wall of energy. Clara Bloom: Sirius.

Orca and Sirius' attacks gave their friends time to recover and retrieve their gear, but the first to recover was standing halfway between Scarlet and the upper left wall. A white bunny with a sword coated in a red energy deflected a few bullets coming from a certain lion snipper trying to keep her friend pinned down. Her geisha mask had been shattered, leaving her face exposed, but she still had her white trench coat with red trimmings, hidden weapons within and her simple long black pants. Alice Wilde: Blade Dancer.

The figure at her side was finally able to get himself back to his feet. His rapid healing let his body shrug off the damage though he still grit his teeth in pain. Pushing that aside he got his skull mask and scarf back in position, pulled up the hood of his long red cloak that partially concealed his crimson and white body suit, and flexed his fingers within his steel plated gloves. The bunny fox hybrid vigilante was ready to brawl again. Reginald Wilde: The Crimson Banshee.

Scarlet could only watch as her allies recovered and more reinforcements arrived. She hadn't dared hope that all that many mammals would answer the call; at best she expected the mammals from Reginald's world to be prepared since Aaron was with them. And yet mammals had already arrived from all the worlds they'd visited on their world tour. _Everyone, is everyone coming?_

A somewhat scruffy looking gray wolf leapt out next, a card already in his hand. He wore a tattered balck jacket, a beanie hat, and was armed with a plethora of trick cards including taser, tranq, shrapnel and even a few explosives he saved for special occasions. Kodi Jones: The Trickster.

At his side was a white vixen like hybrid, though this one had covered her stripes with medical spray. Her armor was silver, but also balck where her counterparts' were blue. She had her tranq pistols holstered and was instead wielding a pump action shotgun loaded with stone pellets, similar to what all her counterparts had used in their early outings. Hannah Savage: Shadow Bullet.

The former of the two happened to emerge facing a mammal he initially mistook for his teammate. This bunny fox hybrid wore what looked like colorful swat gear, a white bodysuit with a red vest and crimson highlights like his scarf, knee pads and belt. He had his helmet on but had pulled his goggles up since one of the lenses was cracked. His belt was empty of grenades and other gadgets, but he still had his tranq pistol in hand. He was using that gun to help cover his own retreat back to the main group. Ronan Wilde: Sergeant Red.

One beatle drone that had survived Excalibur's pulse tried to attack Sergeant Red from above, but a sonic scream from below shattered the drone before that could happen. The scream came from a brown furred lynx wearing an outfit that resembled a fancy dress. It was mostly black colored but had several gold parts as well, including puffy upper arm pieces and elbow length white gloves. There were also four decorative insect like oval wings on her back, though those were bent out of shape. Sabrina "Esso" Resse: Chime.

Above the rapidly growing circle forming around Scarlet, The Mage continued to use his wand and his magic to interfere with Ryan's recovering defenses. _Still at a disadvantage, we need..._Mage's thoughts were interrupted by a sound from below, _exactly that_.

A loud battle cry drew many eyes to Scarlet's portal as a gigantic white lioness emerged. She was well over twelve feet tall, wore a black sleeveless midriff that showed off her incredible muscles, and also had urban camo pants and a belt containing some gear. Kiara Priderock: Roar.

In rapid succession Scarlet watched two groups emerge from the different portals, the first from the one Roar had come from. A gray wolf wearing a simple black jacket and beanie combo was first up, his jacket had a golden star on the back. He also had a different array of trick cards like flashbangs and cryos, as well as his trusty hacking wand on hand. Kodi Jones: Young Mage

Next was a red vixen weilding a wooden bow she'd received as a gift from her grandfather. Her outfit was mostly dark green and consisted of long pants and an open vest. She also wore a sturdy black sports bra, long yellow gloves, a black utility belt and a yellow cap with a red feather sticking out. In addition to her bow and arsenal of trick arrows she also had a long knife attached to each of her upper legs. Luna Wilde: Young Andraste.

The last of the group was nearly identical to Scarlet's wife. Same blue and silver armor, same twin pistols, same white fur. This one had apparently had the time to apply her strip masking spray and carried what looked like a grenade launcher on her back. She was younger and a bit smaller then her counterparts. Hannah Savage: Young Bullet.

Scarlet paid the trio no mind as her eyes were drawn to the group coming from her home dimension. A light peach furred lioness hopped out of the light wearing jeans and a long sleeve jacket. She had one of the Bunker's assault rifles loaded with rubber bullets in hand as well as a lethal side arm strapped to her hip, and a telescopic staff strapped to her belt. It looked as if she had grabbed whatever she could easily access from the Bunker before jumping through. Kiara Priderock: Agent of Camelot.

Next was an older arctic vixen wearing a simple black suit. At her side was a striped bunny also in a suit. The vixen had a medium mammal sized rifle in hand while the bunny was using a compound bow. Both also had their sidearms holstered. Skye Savage: Director of the MCB, and Jack Savage: Agent of the MCB

"Jack? Skye? What are you doing here?" Scarlet asked as the mammals emerging from the portals hit a lull.

Skye didn't answer, too occupied with looking around and trying to take in the situation, but Jack turned to face his daughter in law. "Hehe, well we sort of knew what might be coming thanks to Aaron so everyone was camping out around the mirror and...just call it instinct okay?" Jack was a bit flustered, both from the question and the relief of seeing that Robyn was alright.

Up above, The Mage threw up a series of earth walls around the group, letting the less durable combatants take cover.

Off to the right, the captive mammals took advantage of the distraction caused by Roar's appearance to retreat back to the main group. A brown furred lioness wearing vibrant purple short pants, a sports bra and a domino mask with a plume of feathers used her fire powers to set ablaze a line in the field behind them. This stopped their recovering pursuers and interrupted the local Skye's attempt to ensnare them with her numbing tendrils. The lioness wore nothing aside from her limited garb, as she found it harder to de and re-materialize when she turned parts of or her whole body into flames. Rani Nighttrie: Pyre.

At the front of the retreating mammals was a slender cheetah wearing a long cloak-like trench coat complete with simple black pants and a white shirt. She used her newly acquired powers to turn invisible whenever she felt too exposed. While she had martial arts training, she was far from an expert and was unarmed aside from her claws and fangs. Fuli Duma.

The red vixen behind her wore an outfit inspired by her vigilante grandfather. A hooded dark green sleeveless jacket with a mask of the same color and sturdy black pants. She had a high tech compound bow in her hand and still had a number of trick arrows in her quiver. Unlike her counterparts, this archer vixen carried no melee weapons. Luna Wilde: Hooded Andraste.

The fourth and final of the arctic vixen looking hybrids had an identical outfit to two of her counterparts. Blue and silver, twin handguns, she even had her stripes uncovered since she'd run out of the surgical spray she used the previous week. The only difference was the high powered rifle she carried and the more loaded utility belt. Hannah Savage: Sniper Bullet.

At the base of the wall below the command center, Ryan had recovered from being flung away by Exciliber's pulse, but he was stunned watching nearly every mammal Robyn had met over the course of the trip he'd somewhat unintentionally sent her on emerge to help her out.

His eyes bulged particularly wide at the sight of an arachnid mech awkwardly climbing out of the light. It was pitch black save for the eight red camera eyes which offered its pilot excellent circular vision. The large abdomen housed various missiles, darts and traps that could be loaded into either the turrets on the top and bottom of the thorax or shot out of one of the eight legs. The eight legs allowed the mech to rapidly crawl up and down any surface and up to two of them could be detached without hampering it's mobility. Olivia Dawson: Nightspinner.

"Merde!" Ryan heard a familiar shout as another white bunny emerged from the portal right under Nightspinner's legs. This one wore a black sneaking suit, a cloth covering her lower jaw with a skull design on it, and a pair of goggles over her golden eyes. She was armed with a sheathed sword, a belt of kunai knives, a handgun, and a utility belt containing various toxins and grenades. Alice Kirabito: Ronin.

"It's another Olivia Ronin!" Sergeant Red assured her as he sparred a moment to look back at his ally.

"Ronan!" A voice called as a figure emerged from the light. Ryan's jaw dropped as he realized he recognized the voice, and it wasn't coming from the command center. An older vixen pulled herself out of the portal. She wore a largely balck and white bodysuit and held two batons she used for melee brawling. The most distinctive feature was the violet veil she wore over her snout Marian Wilde: The Maid.

"Nana!?" Red gasped, "Wha, what are you doing here?" His surprise was shared by Scarlet, Ryan further away, and Jack who was shocked to see the old vixen alive and well.

"Well Scarlet did sound pretty urgent." Another voice called in advance of a mammal stepping through. This one was an older red fox in a simple green jacket with a large hood, he also had a green mask and simple black pants. He held an older bow in his hands and had a quiver of arrows on his back. Robin Wilde: The Hood.

Before The Hood could invoke the same kind of reactions The Maid had, another figure stepped through, and this one Scarlet didn't recognize. It was a mech suit shaped like a fox, shiny black armor covered the entire frame; including a lighter cover for the tail. The only other trace of color were the amber lights coming from the eyes. The suit didn't appear to have any visible weapons, but in truth it could let out a burst of pressurized raw energy from it's right hand and a small arm brace on the left arm contained a pod of mini missiles.

"Who's the armored fox?" Skye asked, finally looking back.

"Name's Hightower," the armored vixen replied in a somewhat raspy voice. Victoria Todd looked back at Scarlet and saw the shocked look on her face, "there've been a few attempts on my life over the years, Olivia figured this would be a good thing for me to have."

"You have so much explaining to do," Skye shook her head. Her tone wasn't accusatory, merely tired.

Up above the circle of mammals The Mage floated and quickly realized they hadn't turned the situation around just yet. _We've got around thirty mammals total, but Ryan's still got us outnumbered and some of them aren't heavy hitters._ Looking across the field The Mage saw Ryan back on his feet and the initial shock of the situation had worn off the hybrid's face. Looking down again The Mage noticed that many of his new allies wore looks of confusion. The last of the captive allies were making their way to the circle in the middle, but if Ryan's forces attacked now it would descend into total chaos.

With a flick of his wand, The Mage connected his earpiece to everyone's down below and spoke in the clearest voice he could muster. "Everyone listen up!" He paused for just a moment to let that command sink in. "You don't know everyone around you, but all of you know me so pay attention. The mammals surrounding us right now are under mind control, their brains have been taken over by a corrupt version of project steelblood. We've got cops, MCB agents, drones, mechs, powered agents, heroes and criminals. And all the superpowered ones are immune to tranqs. The one behind all of this is Ryan Wilde, he's the hybrid standing at the base of the big observation point on the top floor. Our goals are to take out Ryan himself and the command center."

The Mage paused to catch his breath and let the situation sink in. The newly arrived mammals had a lot of unanswered questions, but The Mage's speech had given them the gist of the situation. Only a minute had passed since the first Bullet emerged from the portal and already some of Ryan's forces were recovering, mainly the non mechanical ones. The group had been forced to take defensive actions during Mage's speech.

"So the funny box over there is the prize right?" Roar called up.

"Yes but he knows how to fight us Roar," Red cautioned, earning a nod from the huge lioness.

Skye was looking at the controlled MCB agents with concern, she recognized some of the faces in the crowd. "Is there any way to free these mammals?" She asked aloud, "we could use the help!"

The local Bullet answered her other mother, "We have a very limited supply of a cure, but it knocks a mammal out in the process." She let the tactical implications of those limitations speak for themselves.

"Which means we need a plan of attack," Spitfire declared.

"And that's to make the best use of resources," The Mage called out, "here's the plan. Roar and Bella Spitfire, you two are our hardest hitters, go for their most dangerous powered mooks and take em out."

"Of course Mage," Bella replied.

"Sounds good," Roar agreed.

"Sirius and other Spitfire, you're in the sky with me, we can't let these drones get on top of everyone else or we're done." Mage was joined by his fellow flying wolf and the sleek mech and they formed a triangle in the sky.

"Bullets, yes all four of you, focus on the cops and agents. We're way outnumbered so thin the hoard. Archers focus on the guys on the first couple of upper floors, Young Mage, stay in the back and use your wand to mess with the lab's systems." Mage's rapidfire orders were acknowledged and followed as the array of smaller mammals got into position. "The rest of you, stay in groups, and the more vulnerable members stick to some of the stronger ones. Don't let pride or ego get in the way of knowing which of the two you are." The whole group held its breath, knowing what was likely to come next.

_Prepared them as best I could, just hope it's enough_, The Mage grimaced as his HUD mask showed him that more of the mechanical defenses of the PMR Labs were coming back online. _We need to move now_! "Everyone, fight smart, fight hard, and fight together so we can get through this. Today the stars align! Oh-de-lally!"

"Oh-de-lally!" Many of the group echoed as they broke from the circle to go on the offense.

The powered mammals and law enforcement under Ryan's control reacted in kind, and Rough and Rumble were the first to close the gap. The rhino duo had been steadily advancing on the earthen walls The Mage had thrown up, but they rushed in when they saw mammals breaking from cover. Their massive forms left visible footprints in the grass as they charged their powers up; Rough's iron skin and Rumble's vibrating fists. A loud roar bellowed a challenge for the two as Roar herself met their charge with one of her own. The goliath lioness ran on all fours to intercept the two before they could reach the vulnerable members of their party. Right as the three mammals were about to converge, Roar pounced sideways and slammed Rumble to the ground with a tackle that sent chunks of the field flying back when they landed. Rough stumbled as he brought his advance to a halt, the momentum of his charge preventing him from pulling a quick turn. He never got the chance to right himself as a pair of arrows pricked his chest. Jack and The Hood's taser arrows sparked to life and sent the rhino drone to the ground where he convulsed violently.

"Still got your aim eh Skippy?" The Hood quipped.

"I haven't been called that in years," Jack sighed, still overwhelmed by the strangeness of the situation.

Ahead of them, Roar had rendered Rumble unconscious with a series of blows to the head. The rhino's vibrations might have been able to harm the lioness, but his concentration was broken by the sudden impact and he couldn't recover. Any projectiles the guards fired at Roar bounced off harmlessly. Roar stood up and hopped over to Rough just as he stopped convulsing and knocked out the second rhino with a simple stomp to the face.

Above the center of the field The Mage, Spitfire and Sirius were attempting to cover everyone as the advance got underway. The Mage was focused on defense, throwing up more walls of earth and trying to mess with the lab's systems with his wand. Sirius and Spitfire were taking the more direct approach.

"We're right back to fighting drones in the sky, ain't we Goldie?" Spitfire laughed while she fired a mini missile at a recovering beetle drone. "Can't believe it's only been a few days."

"It's not just the machines that are drones here," Sirius sighed as she blasted an inactive turret before it could come back online. The explosion that occurred wasn't all that big, but it was more than enough to ensure the turret would stay out of commission. "Everyone that we are fighting is a drone, unwillingly turned into very partial cyborgs and then mind hacked."

Inside her cockpit, Olivia gasped, "Hellfire, that's twisted. I don't want to imagine what it's like for them right now."

"In hindsight it's like a clear but kind of foggy dream," Sirius described the experience in a quiet and angry tone., "parts of your memories are just blotted out and you know you've done things that your mind didn't give your body okay to do."

Spitfire put two and two together, "You were?"

"I was," Sirius conformed as she dodged an attack from a beetle drone, "so I can tell you that it's absolutely worth whatever pain a fight puts you through if it means being free from that."

"Then let's free all of them!" Spitfire shouted as she zeroed in on the lion assassin Scar, who was still taking cover behind various pillars trying to get a good shot in.

While his two aerial companions traded words, The Mage observed the state of affairs down below and provided support as needed. His arsenal was the least suited for long range attacks.

_At least the groups split up fairly evenly, really was no time to direct everyone in a direction_, The Mage could see that their forces had separated into four groups in addition to his trio, each facing a different group of foes.

Roar had begun the push towards the front of the labs, which was where a lot of the PMFR was located. Most of her team had stuck with her as Young Bullet, The Maid, The Hood and Young Mage were all in that group. The latter was hanging back and using his wand as instructed, but stuck close enough to the group so he wouldn't be left behind. Chime and Orca also joined the battle against their teammates and the group was rounded out by Jack, Hightower and Slash.

Only Bella Spitfire, Pyre and Hooded Andraste were attacking the back of the field towards the command center, but Pyre's sweeping fire and Spitfire's huge arsenal covered a lot of ground. Hooded Andraste, the hood being what The Mage latched onto to distinguish her from the Andraste of Ronan's world, was aiming solely at her brother Ryan. Every arrow flew straight and true and Ryan was forced off the field to avoid the constant barrage.

The left and right flanks were manned by cops and MCB agents respectively. Both had the security forces of the PMR labs mixed in. On the left, The Crimson Banshee and Blade Dancer led the assault, with his teammates Trickster and Shadow Bullet right behind them. Kiara and Young Andratse rounded out the group, both firing their weapons from behind cover.

Nightspinner was using her back mounted turret to keep as many MCB agents as preoccupied as she could, giving Maiden, Skye, Sergeant Red, Ronin, Prime Bullet and Sniper Bullet space to push an advancing line of offense.

_Ugh, why did all four Hannah's have to share the same code name? _The Mage bemoaned, _hard enough to keep track when there's two of them. Okay Ronan's is Young Bullet cause they're all a few years younger, Reginald's is Shadow Bullet cause she was nice enough to have a different outfit, but how do I tell mine and this world's Bullets apart? I can't even go by the stripes. _At that moment Sniper Bullet whipped out her sniper rifle and tranqed a black bear who'd been about to throw a flashbang grenade. The little device clattered to the ground and disrupted several MCB agents instead.

_Sniper Bullet it is,_ The Mage grinned at the easy solution, _and I'll call my Bullet Prime Bullet. _As far as The Mage could tell there were only two mammals unaccounted for. Fuli had turned invisible and The Mage couldn't keep track of her, though he hoped she was trying to get to safety. The other was Scarlet, who was still keeping the portal open at the center of the field. The Mage was about to tell her to join the fighting when he heard her softly speak.

"Come on Kion, we need your help," no answer came and it was clear to The Mage that Scarlet was hoping their friend was at the Bunker and would be willing to come to their aid.

_Probably won't happen,_ The Mage sighed, _but him turning up could seriously turn the tide_. The Mage flew back up and let Scarlet keep the portal open for a little while longer.

000

At the back end of the field, Ryan composed himself after escaping his sister's arrow barrage. He used the long section of wall as a barrier from the battle raging on the other side, but his temporary safety did nothing to alleviate his growing anger.

"I won," Ryan seethed, "I had them beat. I called almost all of their moves and all they managed to do was cause me a temporary setback. Then Robyn just pulls...something out of her dimension to undo all my work!" Ryan left a sizable indent in the wall when his fist smashed into the wall. _I need a plan._

Ryan ran and jumped up the inside staircases until he reached floor five. He reached the balcony and witnessed the chaos in the field below. _Damn it, I can't get in touch with Nana, I just have to hope she and my drones are enough._ There were too many factors in this fight, no countermeasure would suffice, and right in the middle of the field was the mammal behind it all.

_You linked us via those mirrors, this all started with you, and now you could ruin everything. _"Robyn, you'll pay for this." Ryan looked further down the balcony and saw one of the turrets that hadn't activated when he sprung his trap on The Mage. "Too dangerous for your average meat bag, but you can take it Robyn."

000

_He's not coming_, Scarlet realized as another minute passed. Not much time had passed since The Mage had given his combat speech and Scarlet was hoping that Kion would join them. A second Roar would unquestionably swing the fight in their favor. But it was clear that no one else was coming through at this point. _He did say he was done, guess it is a lot to ask someone to jump into another dimension._

Scarlet was about to pull her hand out of the mirror and join the fight when a voice called out, "Mom!"

"Aaron?" Scarlet looked down at the portal leading to Reginald's world, though it was honestly hard to see much of anything through the tiny mirror shard.

"Aaron slow down!" Another familiar voice called.

"Mom? What's happening?" Scarlet asked, relieved to hear her mother's voice again.

"Let go of me!" Aaron cried.

"Aaron's trying to go through the portal," Judy answered.

"What! Don't let him...Aaron you can't come here!" Scarlet, in her panic, forgot that she could just pull her hand out of the mirror and end the issue.

"I'm trying but he's using his telekinesis to fly!" Judy hurriedly called, "Aaron it's too dangerous!"

"Mom, I'm coming," Aaron shouted.

"No!" Judy cried as she and Aaron emerged from the portal. Aaron had stopped trying to escape his grandmother's grasp and opted to just lift and toss her while she was still holding onto him.

Before Scarlet could even register that her mother and son had just arrived in the middle of a battlefield, another voice called, "Robyn look out!" Ryan's voice came from the back end of the field. Scarlet looked up and her eyes shot open in pure dread. Ryan was standing next to some sort of turret several floors off the ground, a turret that was firing some sort of energy blast right at her and her family.

Other mammals in the field looked back at the incoming blast and attempted to react. Bella Spitfire heard the call, but even though she could process what was happening in an instant, by the time she was able to physically prepare the mech to intercept the blast it had already passed overhead. The Mage turned just in time to see the blast cross the halfway point between the turret and it's target, he attempted to raise an earth wall but it was far too late. Sirius' attempt to intercept the attack failed when she overshot with her energy beam. Judy and Aaron hit the ground just in time to see certain death racing right at them in the form of a ball of orange light. Only one mammal on the field was in a position to help.

Scarlet braced her feet against the ground, ready to launch herself into the air and take the blast, but a white furred figure emerged from the portal just before she removed her fingers. It wasn't the figure Scarlet had hoped for. A blast of sonic intercepted the energy attack first, and with barely a swoosh a vibranium sword slashed downward right into the attack. The blast split in half and went to the sides of the Wildes, but only just. Black scars of scorched grass created a very narrow v around the four mammals, the intercepting attack had worked by a very narrow margin.

000

Up on the fifth floor, Ryan's expression of horror stayed on his face even as the attack that had nearly killed Robyn's mother and son was countered. The figure that emerged was a white bunny wearing a tattered white coat and sneaking suit. She had a mechanical arm and a red sword scabbard on her hip. Ryan's eyes were drawn to her face, her jaw was covered by a cloth mask with a black bunny skull image on it, and her eyes were pitch balck pools of darkness. Her eyebrows were creased in a furious glare aimed right at the mad hybrid. Alice Wilde: Yueri.

Despite knowing full well who this new combatant was, Ryan in that moment feared for his soul. Then the illusion was shattered when Yueri tried to land on one of The Mage's earth walls. Her right leg buckled under her and her body went stiff, she toppled backwards and out of Ryan's sight.

"Ryan jump!" Marain screamed over the intercoms. Ryan looked up just in time to see Sirius fire twin beams of energy right at his position. They hit the turret and an explosion consumed the weapon and sent Ryan to the ground. He looked up to see that part of the balcony and it's railing had been vaporized. With his ears still ringing Ryan stumbled forward only to have another explosion go off behind him, Spitfire had fired a missile at the wall next to him. This time the hybrid stumbled forward and fell through the hole in the railings. Ryan tried to grab hold of the floor but missed and fell down two stories before grabbing another railing. His ears picked a faint twing sound and he instinctively jumped off to avoid Hooded Andraste's explosive arrow, only to jump right into Pyre's fire blast. His screams of pain prevented him from hearing the thrusters of Bella Spitfire's mini missiles. This time the explosion hit him directly and Ryan was tossed violently to the side, he sailed through the air and crashed violently on the second floor. The impact sent him tumbling down the hallway before friction finally stopped him.

Ryan Wilde lay in a circle of ashes and blood as his healing factor worked to repair the damage. His eardrums burst, he had burn marks all over his body, multiple bone fractures and his left leg had been blown to pieces. Ryan's mind finally caught up with reality, less than half a minute had passed since he'd fired his energy blast but it felt so much longer. He knew from experience that he had to just let his body heal, but the pain, shame and humiliation did not let him rest peacefully.

000

The Undying Scarlet watched her teammate and sister in law tumble backwards off the earth wall, her sword falling from her hand in the process. It was just about the least graceful movement she'd ever seen any Alice Kirabito take. Yueri hit the ground and let a pained groan as her own mechanical arm dug into her side. Not seeing any physical action for over a month had left the former assassin's body stiff and sluggish, and the lack of sleep she'd allowed herself over the past several days wasn't helping either.

"Merde," Yueri cried as she struggled to her knee, shocked at how weak her body felt, "I haven't felt this weak since…"

"Cover his ears." The doe bunny turned to find Scarlet advancing towards her. The hybrid had just finished checking to make sure her mother and son were okay. She pulled down her scarf and hood to reveal her full face, and the look of barely restrained fury on her face. "Alice."

"Robyn, you're alr…"

"Take that ridiculous ghost mask off so we can talk face to face," Robyn demanded. Alice pulled her mask down and removed her eye coverings, slipping them into their carrying case on her belt.

"Okay, Robyn I…"

"What the hell were you thinking!?" Robyn screamed in Alice's face, all restraint gone. "Jumping in front of energy attack! What could've possessed you to do something so catastropically stupid!?"

"Aaron and Judy were about to be…"

"And you didn't think I was about to intercept it myself? I can come back from something like that! You can't!"

Alice let that statement sink in, the energy attack may have been excruciatingly painful for Robyn, but she had come back from far worse. "You're right," Alice admitted, "that wasn't necessary, but they were in danger and there wasn't time to…"

"There wasn't time?" Robyn echoed, "just like there wasn't time for anything other then you going to track Ronin and Andi down, just like there wasn't time for you to do anything other then use your pregnant self as bait!?" Robyn's hand shot forward and grabbed Alice's robotic arm. She held it in front of Alice's face, "You know how fragile you are, so why do you keep doing shit like this?" Although Robyn's expression was still twisted in anger, Alice saw that tears were forming in her eyes. "You aren't an assassin anymore Alice, you aren't disposable, the life you earned matters, you mean something to your family," Robyn's voice started cracking, "but sometimes you act like it doesn't, you act like you're still Ronin and you'll have to bail at any minute. Do you have any idea how that feels for the mammals who love you?" Robyn finished her speech and let her head drop down. Hot tears rolled down her snout and onto the field below.

Alice watched as her sister struggled to keep more tears from forming and let her words sink in. _Do you consider yourself a lucky mammal?_ Nick's question came back to Alice and mixed in with Robyn's. On the surface Alice really had changed from the dangerous but lonely mammal she used to be, but some instincts die hard and Alice was realizing she was no exception.

"Is that what you were really angry about?" Alice asked softly, "me putting myself at risk."

"Oh, I AM mad about a lot more than that but, yes, that was the first thing that came to mind when I walked out of that meeting room," Robyn attempted to joke, "Kion quitting, you putting yourself in danger, Luna being demoted...Hannah betraying me. I haven't been short on things to be furious with, but everything else came later, when I had more time to think about it."

With that admission, both Robyn and Alice finally understood the root of the rift that had formed between them; anger born of worry.

"Alice," Judy called, drawing attention to her, "you promised me you wouldn't do anything this stupid again." Judy's face was cold and stern, Alice could feel the disappointment radiating from her step-mother.

"I know," Alice sighed, hating that she'd broken her promise so easily, "I, I didn't think it through. Robyn's right, I do still think like Ronin sometimes."

"What if your sword had just passed through that laser thing and did nothing? You'd be dead and if Luna had died during our little multiverse roadtrip your kits would be orphans!"

"I'm sorry!" Alice cried, "About everything, no, about that stupid trap we set, about the way I acted afterwards, about taking so long to try and fix it, about throwing myself in danger again. I still have a long way to go, but I promise I'll try to be more thoughtful about how my actions affect all of you."

"I believe you," Robyn said sadly, "I just really hope you'll stick to your word this time."

Before any further talking could occur, The Mage called down from above, "I'm glad to see we're making more progress on picking up the pieces, but we're kind of in the middle of a battle! Robyn, get those three back home."

"Won't work," Judy sighed, holding up Robyn's make up kit. The mirror shards had shattered at some point after Alice had arrived, possibly from the sonic blast.

"Damn it," The Mage swore, "okay, got an idea. Ronin, Slash, Blade Dancer get back to the middle of the field for a guard mission!"

Alice's ears perked up when she heard her former codename called, but it was nothing compared to the shock of seeing three of herself arrive in rapid succession. In short order, Robyn said her goodbyes to her family and left to join the frey, leaving the three swords mammals to guard Judy, Aaron and Yueri.

000

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Young Mage asked. The wolf had been following his older counterparts orders to stick back and use his wand when a voice had spoken over his earpiece.

"I am the Bella of this world, Mage," Bella Olivia replied, "I am operating from a stealth vehicle outside of the Powered Mammal Research Lab, using a hacking wand similar to your own."

"That's cool and all but...wait," Young Mage grinned, "are you suggesting we team up to hack the shit out of this building?"

"That is exactly what I am suggesting, two is better then one and your older counterpart appears to be preoccupied," Bella Olivia confirmed.

"Let's do it, not like I'm gonna be much help here anyway," Young Mage lamented as he witnessed the many dangerous powered mammals around the field.

"We all have a part to play," Bella Olivia reassured, "now I suggest we focus on the command center."

Further toward the front, the heroes' advance was forced to a halt by a single enemy combatant. Wildhorn used his power over plantlife to create a thick web of roots that came up to Roar's chest and towered over everyone else. The deer was too far back for any long range attack to reach and any of the smaller mammals risked being ensnared if they got too close.

"This is exactly how he captured us back at the base," Orca cried in frustration. Her water slashes and attempts to drain the liquids out of Wildhorn's roots were just as ineffective now as they had been before. The young mare wasn't happy that their attempt at a distraction had come to a premature end.

Chime's sonic screams were more effective at destroying the roots, but her throat would tire long before Wildhorn's powers, "We need a plan here, we don't even know where Harper is."

"About three meters to the right of the doors from our perspective," the two friends turned to see that Young Bullet had joined them , "this Harper of yours is over there."

Chime sighed, "Reliable as ever blindy but we still can't get to him."

Young Bullet chose to ignore the crass nickname, "That scream of yours was sort of working."

"So? Sort of isn't is," Chime snipped before using another scream to blast a root group trying to reach the three.

"So, how about a team up, big mouth?" A much deeper voice answered as Roar joined them as well. "Your scream and my roar in the same direction."

"Oh, oh that could work," Chime smiled for the first time in the battle.

"What about Harp, er, I mean Wildhorn? Will it hurt him a lot?" Orca asked.

"He your teammate?" Roar questioned.

"...And boyfriend," Orca muttered.

"Then he'll have a headache," Roar said nothing else before she and Chime lined themselves up and inhaled before letting their respective cries loose. Wildhorn's roots were shredded and the path to the deer was clear, as was him stumbling backwards from the force of the attacks. Orca wasted no time running forward and drawing more water to her hands, arrows flew past her as the archers covered her advance. Just as she was about to reach Wildhorn, he tightened his fist and and a fresh burst of roots and vines lifted the mare into the air. Wildhorn got to his feet as he continued to raise Orca off the ground to increase the distance between the two. Wildhorn looking up at his victim meant he wasn't keeping his eyes on the ground, and that let Chime race forward at him. He tried to intercept her with more roots but the lynx summersalted over them, landed on her hands and delivered a brutal handstand kick to Wildhorn's crotch.

Wildhorn doubled over in pain and Chime followed up the attack by kicking his legs out from under him. A freed Orca created a pair of watery handcuffs and lifted her boyfriend back into the air. She quickly searched his pocket for the cure syringe he'd taken from her earlier and showed it into his arm. Both mammals stepped away as Wildhorn went limp, the rest of their group already capitalizing on the hole in the enemy's defenses.

The hero group that was having the most trouble advancing was the one on the right side of the field. The MCB and their powered allies made it difficult to advance without being met with a hail of projectiles. Skye and Prime Bullet were hiding behind an earth wall, pinned down by the enemy. "Do we have any openings?" Skye asked.

"None, there's too many of them," Prime Bullet answered. Her pulse let her sense her entire group was in a similar situation. Nightspinner wasn't as powerful as Spitfire and couldn't hold down an entire front by herself. Before Prime Bullet could speak again her pulse let her know that someone she knew better then anyone else was approaching.

The Undying Scarlet landed next to Prime Bullet and took cover. "First things first," Scarlet said as she pulled her scarf down. Scarlet pulled her wife into a kiss that was happily reciprocated, both mammals delighting in each other's company for a fleeting moment. They quickly separated and Scarlet turned to Skye, "Sorry about that."

"Don't be, it was needed," Skye smiled at her daughter in law, "do you have a plan?"

"Yup, remember the opera house?" Scarlet asked.

"Squall maneuver?" Prime Bullet smiled.

"Everyone get ready!" Skye called, needing no explanation as she recalled the move the two had used six years ago.

Scarlet took Bullet in her arms and leaped into the air, but she put a twist on the move. Rather than the twirling in midair they'd employed before, this time Scarlet's jump carried them in an arch that had her back facing the wall of agents the entire time. This meant all the enemies weapons would harmlessly be absorbed by Scarlet and none reached the actual threat. Prme Bullet unloaded every round of ammo she had in the tranq pistols at the MCB agents, the high angle meant they couldn't take cover very effectively. Between the rain of bullets and the distraction of the two hybrids up in the air, Skye, Red, Sniper Bullet, Maiden and Nightspinner had the perfect opening to advance and take out even more agents. Scarlet landed behind another earth wall and cooed, "haven't lost your touch Blind Badass."

"Blind Badass, seriously?" Sniped Bullet blushed heavily.

"I think it's super cute," Maiden lightly teased. Neither Scarlet or Prime Bullet cared enough to be embarrassed about their little moment.

Back at the front, the heroes had advanced to the edge of the field after defeating Wildhorn. Now they were fighting powered mammals in the hallways. The Maid and The Hood were locked in combat with Slipper, the thieving antelope. Like all the powered criminals she was an expressionless drone at the moment. Slipper was already immune to tranqs thanks to her power, so the M. were essentially fighting a young and very agile mammal they couldn't easily disable

The Maid was getting up close with her batons while The Hood hung back and attempted to use his arrows. Slipper easily dodged their attempts while The Maid had several close calls dodging her kicks. The Maid back flipped away and landed by her husband, "This isn't working."

"Try attacking at the same time," was all The Hood could say before Slipper was on them again. The Hood drew a flashy flare arrow and aimed his shot, The Maid went for a brutal jab towards the gut that forced Slipper to roll to her left. The Hood fired and while Slipper was able to narrowly dodge the arrow, it left her leg open to a hard swing from The Maid. Slipper stumbled and that was all the opening The Maid needed. A rapid succession of jabs to the gut, chest and face brough the antelope down and knocked her out.

"Gah!" The Maid turned to see that two ordinary lab guards had gotten the drop on The Hood while he was focused on Slipper. The old fox managed to jab the attacking hyena with a taser arrow, but the white wolf guard lashed out with a kick that sent The Hood to the ground. The Maid was too far away to reach the wolf as he proceeded to follow up with a downward chop, but an energy blast caught the wolf in the chest and sent him into a wall. He slumped to the ground unconscious.

"You can't try and pull the same tricks you did when you were younger," The Hood's savior chastised. Hightower walked over to the two, her palm still smoking from her energy attack, "You'll only get yourselves killed, and you two would leave quite a mess behind in your family if you died out of the blue."

"Noted," The Hood gasped as The Maid helped him back to his feet.

"You heard The Mage, weaker members stick together," Hightower continued, "now come on, we can turn the main entrance into an ambush point." Bruised but still in the fight, The Maid and The Hood followed.

"Who are you exactly?" The Hood asked as he readied another arrow.

"Hightower, I lead the team on Reginald's dimension," underneath her mask, Victoria amused herself with the thought of all the surprised faces she'd get if she unmasked herself.

Up on the balcony overlooking the left side of the field, The Crimson Banshee was in pursuit of the assassin Scar. He'd jumped up well ahead of his allies specifically to neutralize this threat.

_Blade Dancer told me about this bastard, he nearly took out the entire team before she stepped in._ Crimson bore that in mind, since it meant this lion was able to defeat Ryan, whom he shared a power set with. _Ryan, you say you don't want anyone to die here, but you have nowhere near as much control as you think._ Crimson unleashed his banshee wail to try and trip up the lion, but Scar fought through the pain and shot Crimson through the gut with his rifle.

Crimson doubled over in pain and Scar used the opening to easily dodge a blast of energy from Sirius. She and the other airborne heroes had been taking frequent pot shots at the assassin. Climbing to all fours, Crimson leapt forward and Scar's feet. The lion made a downward jab with his hunting knife, but Crimson brought himself to a halt and instead jumped up at the lion's face. He sailed right over Scar's jabbing arm and landed a clean hit. He grabbed Scar's sickly black mane to hold onto, but the assassin quickly tossed his knife to his other hand and stabbed Crimson in the back of the neck before another punch could be landed. Blood poured out of Crimson's neck and onto Scar's emotionless face, the blow also causing Crimson's scarf to fall. The assassin was surprised to see Crimson smirking down at him, and turned toward the field too late to realize he'd left himself wide open.

Spitfire's missile wasn't an explosive, but an electric pod similar to a taser. Scar had no time to dodge as the pod impacted him and sent high voltage electricity into his body. When the lion stopped shaking he was sitting on the floor and just lucid enough to comprehend The Crimson Banshee. The hybrid's wound had healed, though blood decorated the front of his uniform, and he wasted no time delivering a knockout punch to Scar's face.

"Scar's been defeated," Blade Dancer reported to her counterparts and Judy. The six mammals were still in the center of the field and feeling very exposed. "The left side now had the least of Ryan's opposition, I propose we escort Judy, Aaron and Yueri to that side of the building and away from the fighting."

"We will have to fight our way through some opposition still," Slash cautioned, "perhaps we should wait for more to go down."

Ronin shook her head, "No, it's only a matter of time before they start engaging in emergency procedures, we want to get out while there's still an opportunity."

"I agree with the majority," Yueri spoke up, "I have no desire to keep my nephew in harm's way any longer." Judy nodded in agreement.

'Then form up," Blade Dancer called, "I'll take point, Ronin and Slash take the sides."

"Wait," Judy called, "I have complete faith in your capabilities, but with so much going on something could go wrong very easily. I'd like something to defend myself with." Judy waved her hand's at her police uniform to indicate she was unarmed.

"You could use my handgun, but that's lethal," Ronin indicated the largely useless sidearm.

"I suppose you'll have to make do with some of these," Slash indicated her kunai belt.

"Use this," Yueri spoke up, eliciting gasps from her counterparts. Judy turned and her jaw dropped. Alice was offering her sword to Judy.

"Alice that's, that's" Judy struggled to form words.

"The sword that Oni, my mother, gave to me so I could survive my life as an assassin," Yueri reflected on her mentor and mother, more now than ever she was able to appreciate everything she'd done for her. "But I am an assassin no longer and...I don't need to hold onto this all the time." The others could see the pain on Alice's face from the confession. "So it's appropriate that I, temporarily, give it to my...new…" Alice struggled to get the words out.

In one smooth motion, Judy stepped forward, scooped the sword out of Yueri's hand and pulled her into a sideways hug, "I told you sweetie, you can call me that whenever you're ready." Judy brough the focus back to the moment by handing Aaron to Yueri. "Use your sonic cannon if you have to, but keep Aaron safe." Yueri nodded, taking the little koala in her right arm. Aaron had quieted down a good deal, shame over putting himself in danger and fear of the loud battle going on around him kept the child quiet.

"Not to downplay the gesture, but how is the sword any less lethal than a gun?" Blade Dancer asked. Judy turned, smiled, and unsheathed the sword while activating the energy field. A blue light resembling flames enveloped the sword.

"Knockout field," Yueri explained. Blade Dancer grinned in return and triggered the red energy field around her sword to match.

"I want one," Slash spoke up.

Ronin chuckled, "Well I call the green field."

"You can focus on that when you get home," Blade Dancer got the group focused, "for now, form up and let's get going." Just as the group started to leave the center they noticed a section of the field near the front open up to reveal something being lifted via a platform. Blade Dancer's eyes widened in fear, "Move move move!"

000

Up in the command center, Marian Wilde was attempting to exercise some level of control over the chaotic situation. Ryan was still out of action in a hallway, and the various groups were fast approaching the perimeter of the field. She'd already prepared the Hellfire mech for deployment, but they needed more. It didn't help that the lab's systems were under constant hacking attempts from at least two of Kodi's wands, and Marian suspected there was a third.

_If those wolves get into the drone control systems they could free every powered mammal at once, and frankly they aren't as effective as pure drones anyway. _With a few seconds on her keyboard, Marian activated a protocol that brought a change over the living powered drones. After a momentary pause, they awoke and seemed at a glance to be their regular selves. The truth was that it was a semi awake state that allowed the original personality through but kept it focused on a signal task. While it allowed the drones to be more effective and operate autonomously, they would start to figure out something was wrong after a time. So it was impractical for long term use.

Marian let out a breath, now able to focus solely on commanding the mechanical drones. Like the Hellfire mech that was now rising to the field. The mech was the most powerful of the Spitfire line; a massive fifteen foot high giant built to take on the strongest of powered mammals. It traded the usual green armor for red and black. The upper body was mostly a large torso because the head was a small bowl shaped dome, though it maintained the usual Spitfire laser eyes. The large torso was there to store the ammo for the weapon pods mounted on either shoulder, as well as to provide greater armor. The legs were also bulky pillars but they had a different role. Gyroscopic joints and small thrusters worked together with their own dedicated computer to keep the Hellfire upright as often as possible. The Hellfire couldn't fly, but it could use those thrusters for short long jump bursts.

_Good luck Ceartais, you'll need it now more than ever._ Marian thought as she observed the Hellfire wasting no time unleashing its opening salvo. Both shoulder pods launched a swarm of mini missiles towards every corner of the field. Heroes dove to the sides as several earth walls were destroyed and any forward momentum the group had gained was halted. The Hellfire immediately followed up with a volley of conducive grenades launched into the sky. Sirius simply turned intangible, but The Mage and Spitfire had to dodge high into the air. The golden wolf aimed a two handed energy blast at the Hellfire and fired, hoping to overload the mech. The blast connected, but to Sirius' horror, the Hellfire absorbed the energy and seemed to redirect it into its left arm.

The arms were the one asymmetrical aspect of the Hellfire. The left arm featured a more standard looking arm with no obvious added features. That was until it opened its palm and revealed a glowing white outlet; the arm was an energy converter, capable of absorbing redirected energy and unleashing it as a devastating blast. The Hellfire had already selected it's first victim. The left arm turned independent of its body and fired, a massive energy blast struck the ground at Orca's feet and flung the large mare backwards. She hit the ground of the field, bounced a few times then came to a sudden stop when she hit the wall to the side of the front entrance. From her vantage point and using the cameras she still had, Marian watched as her counterpart rushed to Orca's side and confirmed what the vixen already knew. Orca was defeated but only knocked out.

The Hellfire didn't rest on laurels, instead turning to fire another missile barrage at the earth walls on the right side, which would leave the mammals there with no cover. Just as the missiles were leaving their pods, a wall of sound assaulted the Hellfire and caused the missiles to explode prematurely. Roar barreled across the field to fight the mech head on. The leg thrusters allowed the Hellfire to avoid being blown over by the sound wall and it prepared it's attack, but Roar had a good opening move. Roar took advantage of being shorter than the Hellfire to push upwards with her initial tackle, both went into the air and Roar leaned forward. The motion caused the mech to fall to the ground shoulders first in a manner its thrusters couldn't help with. Roar still wasn't done, she followed that up with a downward chop right at the connection point between the chest and the left shoulder pod. Marain's screens confirmed that the pod had lost the ability to reload due to the damage.

_Impressive, she not only figured out the Hellfire's balancing act and how to counter it with just one example, but she also took out one of its key weapons. If that is you Kiara, then well done. It's too bad you forgot about the right hand. _

The Hellfire's right arm was effectively a massive metal fist powered by an extremely powerful internal catapult. The first would crank in and then fling forward with enough force to throw a military fighter jet far and fast enough that it could take off, and that first had been charging since Roar approached. Like the legs and left arm, the right arm had its own operating system. The metal fist flew forward and caught Roar in the chest, sending the goliath lioness into the air and crashing down in pain. Roar felt the impact wound as she struggled back to her feet, but she nonetheless inhaled and let out another roar at the Hellfire. Not to damage the mech, but to keep it at least somewhat off balance.

_I felt that. I haven't ever felt something like that once I've transformed. This thing is stronger than anything Phelps ever threw at us. If I'm so evenly matched by it, then the others are screwed if I lose._ Roar closed the distance between her and the Hellfire again, determined to contain the giant mech.

Though Roar was keeping the Hellfire occupied for the moment, the initial rampage it went on severely altered the momentum of the battle.

On the right flank, every combatant had been forced to take cover and that gave the MCB time to regroup. Sniper Bullet had lost her rifle and was separated from Sergeant Red, so she found herself alone very near the edge of the field. Too late she realized who was a mere few meters away.

Clear energy tendrils shot out from behind one of the pillars and Sniper Bullet was again snared by her mother's numbing powers. Director Skye stepped out and looked past her daughter at the mayhem in the field.

"This is always what happens when mammals with unchecked power are given free reign; utter chaos," Skye sighed before looking down, "and you my daughter, are right in the middle of it. Do you even have a shred of self awareness?"

Sniper Bullet scowled defiantly, "I'm not…"

A shot rang out and a tranq bullet grazed Director Skye's cheek. "Are you serious!?" An angry voice called. Director Skye turned to see a hybrid identical to the one she had bound pointing twin guns in her direction.

"We've had our differences, I know that, but do you care about me so little you mistook that other dimensional copy for your own daughter?" The Bullet in front of her snarled.

"What? But I…," Director Skye trailed off, to her shame, she couldn't tell the two Bullets apart. It left her open to a hail of tranq bullets as the unbounded Bullet charged in. The tranqs didn't affect her, but they still stung and made it hard to focus.

Bullet swung her gun like a flail and the unhanded gun slammed into Director Skye's face. "You're unfocused," she stated. Director Skye tried to recover and snare Bullet with her tendrils, but she couldn't concentrate enough to make them fly at maximum speed. "You're slow," Bullet stated as she easily dodged and roundhouse kicked the arctic vixen in the gut. Director Skye's focus broke completely and Sniper Bullet was freed. "You should've won this easily," Prime Bullet surmised, "instead." A rubber bullet struck Director Skye in the chest and Sniper Bullet stabbed her mother with the syringe of the cure.

"What?" Director Skye gasped as her vision started to blur. Her daughter caught her before she could collapse and she glimpsed a mirror image of herself who still had her gun trained on her.

"Don't worry Mom, you'll be okay," Sniper Bullet assured, "and you didn't mix us up, my counterpart was just messing with your head." Sniper Bullet felt some of the tension leave her mother's body as she slipped into unconsciousness.

"Terrible pun incoming," Scarlet warned as she approached, "damn Hannah you savage."

The two Bullets groaned though Prime Bullet did do with a blush, but snapped their heads in Skye's direction when she let out a brief snort, "Sorry, I don't think I was supposed to laugh at that."

Scarlet shook her head in amusement then got her head back in the game, "Alright, none of us can do a damn thing about...that," she indicated Roar's fight with the Hellfire, "so we need to focus on clearing out as much of this building as we can. Hannah, you and your mother head towards the front and join up with Red, other Hannah and I will head towards the back."

"What about Maiden and that arachnid mech?" Skye asked, noticing two of their squad were missing.

"They've taken a higher path," Prime Bullet informed, pointing up to indicate that the two had ascended the walls to get a better vantage point. "Come on we've still got a battle to win."

Up in the sky, The Mage and Spitfire had been forced to move further away from the ground to escape the Hellfire's barrage, but their dangers were far from over. High above them, on top of the lab's roof, a lone mammal was eyeing the flying mech.

Freefall was a flying squirrel member of the PMFR, not a flying squirrel species, she was a squirrel with the power of flight. She wore a simple aviator's jacket and pants complete with a helmet and goggles. She was a little confused on how the battle had started, but the steelblood in her mind was keeping her on task.

_Jeez, talk about a madhouse down there, wonder what Spitfire's doing with them. Olivia wouldn't…_

_Don't overthink the enemy._

Freefall shook her head, "Must be a hacked suit or something, good thing they taught me how to deal with them." Freefall pulled down her goggles and prepared to jump, the Hellfire having provided a perfect distraction. Freefall silently flew over the center of the field, right above Spitfire, and waited for the right moment

_Three, two, one...Geranimo! _Freefall mentally screamed as she ceased her powers and fell towards the mech. With a precision honed by years of practice, she landed on Spitfire's leg undetected. The next moment, an electric pod was slapped to the mech's leg and Freefall let go. The pod wasn't a full EMP, but it did unleash an electric surge that fried much of the circuitry in the leg's area.

"What the!" Spitfire screamed as half of the force keeping her in the air was suddenly cut off. Suddenly her flying was erratic and uneven, and the mouse pilot had to focus all her efforts on not crashing, but the mech was still losing altitude.

The Mage watched as his comrade in the skies struggled to stay airborne and looked for the source. Just as Spitfire got herself semi stable, The Mage witnessed something zoom down from above towards the mech. "Spitfire watch out!" He called but was helpless to assist since a whole squad of six beetle drones and one old model Spitfire mech attacked him at the same time. Freefall pulled the same trick a second time and Spitfire's remaining leg thruster was taken out.

Olivia screamed inside her cockpit as her mech dropped several stories to the grassy field below. Thankfully the drop was too little to do more than rattle the mech and its pilot, but Olivia could only watch as Freefall plummeted towards her a third time. No doubt planning on disabling the main body. A card landed on Spitfire's hull and a flashbang was unleashed, blinding the falling squirrel. Freefall attempted to pull up, but a net suddenly formed around her and she was pinned to a wall.

Spitfire sat up and saw that she'd landed near the front end of the field, The Young Mage and his self appointed escort Jack Savage had saved her and trapped Freefall with a net arrow. The squirrel was attempting to free herself from the net, but the wires held firm.

"Are you okay, can you still fight?" Young Mage asked his leader.

"I think so," Spitfire said as she got to her feet, "my thrusters are toast but I can still bloody walk thanks to you two."

"Good," Jack said, "we could use a new heavy hitter down here."

On the left side of the field, the ZPD had taken advantage of the Hellfire's appearance to try and outflank the heroes. It was target practice for Shadow Bullet, but everyone else was struggling against the surge of opponents. Kiara in particular really wished she had a better weapon then her rubber bullet rifle, they just weren't effective against some of the larger officers. At least not without causing the kind of harm the agent was unwilling to inflict upon a mind controlled enemy. A rhino and a water buffalo closed in on the lioness, Kiara thrust forward with her staff and smashed the buffalo's nose, then slipped around his back and grabbed his tranq pistol. Seeing that the pistol was loaded with a large mammal tranq she fired it into the rhino before ducking down and kicking the buffalo's feet out from under him. A hard punch to the face on the way down finished off her opponent, but there were so many more. Kiara heard someone approaching her from behind and swung her staff around, only to find that it had sailed over the head of...herself.

Lieutenant Kiara Priderock, being a drone, was not momentarily stunned by seeing another version of herself. The cop took advantage of Kiara's overswing to deliver a rapid series of punches to the face, arm and gut. Kiara dropped her staff and fell to the ground, her attempt to roll away foiled by the Lieutenant's kicks. Kiara groaned and looked up to see her counterpart about to deliver a hard downward punch, but then her discarded staff seemed to move of its own accord and whack Lieutenant Priderock in the back of the head. The lioness landed on the ground next to Kiara and a tranq dart knocked her out a moment later.

Kiara watched in absolute confusion as her staff faded from view before suddenly reappearing along with a trench coat wearing cheetah. "Are you okay?" A cheetah Kiara recognized by sight and the sound of her voice, her coat even resembled a cloak. Fuli Duma.

"You!" Kiara snarled.

"What?" Fuli gasped as she backed off. "Wait, you're from Robyn's world. Okay I promise I have no desire to drown, kidnap, brainwash or do any of those other horrific things to anyone nor am I itching to start a murder cult. I just run a relief center."

"You...aren't helping," Kiara sighed as she sat up.

'Fine, I'm not your enemy, we've still got a battle, here's your stick," Fuli tossed the staff to Kiara's feet before fading from view. Kiara noticed the tranq pistol on the rhino she'd downed was lifted in midair before also fading from view.

_Great, now I have to apologize to Fuli at some point_. "Robyn, I see why you hate this dimension travel nonsense," Kiara said aloud before rejoining the fight.

000

Up in the command center, Marian observed the results of the Hellfire's appearance. All the heroes groups were recovering, but their momentum was brought short and cracks were starting to appear. She witnessed Bella Spitfire defeat Chester Hornsworth when the latter attempted to spread his burning force field across the entire back of the field. Bella Spitfire punched a hole in the ground at the force field's perimeter and stuck her arm through. Though the force field dug into the joint, she quickly fired a single missile that knocked Hornswrth off balance and disabled the field. Marian grinned as she watched the bigoted deer be punched in the gut by Bella Spifire's electric fist.

Less gratifying was the sight of Sergeant Red battling Chief Mustang, the head guard of the PMR Lab. Mustang was a tall brown stallion with enhanced agility and strength, more than enough to keep up with Red. Marian knew from Sirius' report that Red preferred to avoid hand to hand combat if he could, so he didn't have much skill in fighting a martial arts master like Mustang. Ronan wasn't her grandson, but seeing any child of her son's being kicked around so much was an unpleasant experience.

A notification informed her that the hacker's had managed to sever the command center's link with the powered mammal drones, but her earlier actions already covered that. The unexpected connection failure meant the drones wouldn't listen to any command for the next hour to prevent them from being deceived by a false signal.

Of course all of that was just a sideshow to the main event still playing out in the middle of the field.

Roar took several pained breaths as she got back to her feet, having been knocked down by a glancing blow from the Hellfire's catapult fist. Her mind was quick to analyze her opponent, a habit she'd picked up fighting Phelp's larger mechs. The Hellfire's legs were hard coded to always keep the mech facing upright if it could be helped, the energy cannon did not have much internal power since it hadn't been used once since the first time, and the catapult fist needed about thirty seconds to recharge after each use. It was also painfully clear that the Hellfire would outlast her if she didn't turn things around quickly.

_I can't make a dent in this monster, and if I go down everyone else is fucked, I need something stronger...than...me._ A plan formed in Roar's head but she knew that she would need to time things just right. The Hellfire loaded a new swarm of missiles in it's remaining shoulder pod, no doubt hoping to stun Roar before closing in and finishing her off with one last punch. Roar waited for just the right moment and then let loose her signature roar, causing the missiles to explode right as they left the pod. The Hellfire stumbled for a moment and Roar rushed in from the left side. The Hellfire tried to aim it's catapult fist at the charging behemoth, but Roar got there first and rammed the arm. The catapult fist was launched right into The Hellfire's hips, lodging the mech's own weapon deep within itself. The right leg was severely stiffened and the torso could no longer turn. Roar pressed the advantage and leapt up, she ignored the pain from the Hellfire shooting her with it's leazer eyes and delivered an uppercut to the remaining weapon pod on it's shoulder. This time the pod was nearly dislodged and Roar pressed her feet against the Hellfire's torso and pushed off. The lioness landed safely while The Hellfire fell to the ground, its damaged leg preventing it from catching itself.

Roar didn't give her opponent the chance to recover, she rushed in and delivered a palm strike to the catapult arm's elbow. The metal fist was pushed even further in and the Hellfire experienced numerous system failures.

From her vantage point, Marian could see that the Hellfire was done for and prepared a final trick. She remotely activated another of the canon's Ryan had stupidly fired at Robyn. Used only for testing the most durable of objects and as a defense against especially powerful attackers, the canons were far too lethal to have been employed in this battle. The canon charged and fired a burst of energy down at the Hellfire. Roar leaned back to dodge the attack, but she was not the target. The Hellfire absorbed the blast into its left arm cannon. Before Roar could dodge, the Hellfire shot its left arm forward and grabbed her by the head. Roar's face was slammed into the Hellfire's haul before a flash of light blinded her as the cannon fired point blank. Roar was unconscious before her limp bodies hit the ground.

Spitfire watched the events unfold in horror, her strongest teammate was down. She quickly fired a spread of missiles at the arm cannon, striking the barrel. The explosive hitting the still smoking canon was devastating, it destroyed the weapon and took the Hellfire out of the fight for good. But the damage was done.

During the giant mech's rampage, Blade Dancer had done her best to lead her escort to safety on the left side of the field. The ZPD's officers were no match for the trio of former assassins, but they were not the only threats to the group. A powered mammal and member of the PMR labs security force had the six mammals dead in her sight. She was skunk named Samantha, and she'd avoided using her powers earlier in the fight because they would've affected her fellow guards and the ZPD as well. Now however her allies were stretched thin and she saw an opening. Taking a deep breath she unleashed a cloud of knockout gas from her mouth. The large cloud quickly expanded out and forward toward the group.

Thankfully the bunnies ears had caught her taking the initial breath, and most of the group were ready to dodge. Yueri and Judy dove towards the back of the field, while Slash and Ronin leapt towards the front. Ronin made it clear but Slash was a second too slow and caught a breath of the gas, she stumbled and got even more causing the black clothed bunny to fall unconscious on the ground. Blade Dancer phased through the cloud towards the skunk and readied her sword, Samantha shrieked in terror and hopped back while unleashing another cloud. Blade Dancer calmly rolled under the attack and slashed Samantha in the side. The skunk fell unconscious but the two clouds of gas she'd created had separated the escorts from their mission, and Blade Dancer wasn't sure which way Judy and Yueri had gone.

Up above, The Mage and Sirius were feeling the absence of Spitfire. Both wolves now had to cover half the sky on their own and the effort was taking a toll on Sirius. The she wolf had long lost track of how many turrets, beetles and Spitfires she'd defeated, but the hoard seemed endless. A particularly aggressive Spitfire mech attacked The Mage and Sirius was suddenly alone. A new wave of beetles seemed to come from every direction at once, over twenty of the insectoid mechs closed in on Sirius. The she wolf attempted to turn intangible and escape the sphere they were forming, but the drones followed her every move with weapons aimed at her.

Going intangible was, on paper, one of the most powerful tools in Sirius's arsenal. Truthfully the technique had a few downsides; it drained her energy much faster than even her strongest attacks and she couldn't attack back while in the state. Between the long intangible use she was currently employing, as well as the constant attacks, flight and physical exertion of the battle, Sirius was close to collapse. She hadn't had the time to build up the stamina of her veteran teammates and it was catching up with her. So she decided to use a desperate move, one she'd tested only once before in the Bunker.

Sirius charged up as much of her remaining energy as she could, causing her body to glow brightly in the sky. She couldn't attack while intangible, but she could charge energy. Right at the moment she became tangible again she unleashed all her energy in a spherical pulse that vaporized the drone's projectiles and destroyed the drones themselves.

Down below, The Mage defeated the Spitfire mech and looked up just in time to see a mass of explosions surrounding Sirius. "Clara!" he called in alarm as he witnessed his girlfriend's limp body fall out of the sky. Sirius was barely conscious at this point, but through her hazy vision she witnessed a ring of orange pass her line of sight. Next thing she knew she wasn't falling, but rising out of the ground. Her momentum carried her a few feet in the air before she even out and fell the short distance to the ground. The portal closed beneath her and Sirius was out cold before she slumped to the ground.

The Mage breathed a sigh of relief when Sirius landed safely, but now he had to hold the skies by himself and still support his allies. Another squad of Spitfires rose from the lab's basement and The Mage prepared to face them, but several corrosive arrows and an EMP pod intercepted three of the mechs before The Mage made a move. A quick glance revealed that Hooded Andraste, Nightspinner and Maiden had made their way up the walls and were providing the heroes with their answer to the turrets.

The Mage took advantage of the lull in action to catch his breath and take stock of the battle. Despite the intensity they were still doing well. They had thirty two combatants not counting Yueri and Aaron and only four had gone down; Orca, Roar, Slash and Sirius. Three of them were heavy hitters, but they still had more of those and The Mage was beginning to feel like they could actually win this.

His lack of focus meant he didn't spot the danger until it was too late. Maiden fired her magnetic arrow up several stories to get a better vantage point, but she didn't see a certain powered mammal down below. Leap, the high jumping boar criminal, had been in an extended game of keep away with Skye and Prime Bullet. Mother and daughter were unable to keep the boar pinned down, but in turn he was unable to do much in return. Then he spotted Maiden and an opportunity, he braced his feet against the ground and sprang up and over his opponent's heads right at Maiden.

"Maiden behind you," Prime Bullet called as she uselessly fired a tranq bullet after Leap. The Mage's attention was drawn by the call, but it was only to witness Leap slamming into Maiden from the side. The two mammals were flung onto the balcony of the fifth floor, and even from far away The Mage could see that Maiden's left arm was broken. Leap got to his feet and stared at his handiwork, Maiden was clumped against the wall, double over in pain with a clearly broken arm. Her bow was nowhere to be seen, probably dropped when he tackled her, so she was defenseless. The small time criminal grinned at having actually taken down a hero, but he forgot that they weren't alone.

The Mage rushed to Maiden's position, but Nightspinner got there first. Leap turned to see the arachnid mech crawl into the corridor like something out of a horror movie. Inside her cockpit Olivia shouted, "I am not not watching another Luna Wilde get mutilated!" She didn't bother with any of her ranged weapons and simply charged the boar, who suddenly realized he had no place to jump to. Nightspinner reared up on its back four legs and used the front four to rapidly jab the boar at high speeds. The boar was pinned against a pillar as the brutal flurry of jabs soon knocked him out.

"Maiden!" The Mage called as he arrived at his teammate's side.

"I have a medical kit in this shell!" Nightspinner called as she scurried over as well.

"Arms...broken," Maiden cried in pain. She hated to admit it, but as an archer she needed both arms to battle. Maiden was out of the fight.

"Painkillers," Nightspinner deployed a package containing a pair of pills and a small bottled water, "I'm also getting a sling ready for you in here."

"Thank you," Maiden groaned before quickly downing the pills. Looking at her two caretakers, Maiden pushed her pain aside and addressed them, "You should get back out there."

"This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't let my guard down," The Mage lamented.

"Maybe, maybe not," Maiden shrugged with her good shoulder. "Either way you can't let stuff like this keep you down," she forced a weak smile, "take it from the expert."

It was a poor attempt at humor, but The Mage smiled in return all the same. He nodded and took off with Nightspinner on his tail. Sadly, plenty had gone wrong in their absence.

Ever since they'd reached the doorway to the front entrance of the lab, Hightower and the M. had been camping the chokepoint, ambushing anyone who came through. The Maid's ears perked up as she heard loud footsteps coming from the front end.

"Big one incoming!" She stepped back as The Hood and Hightower readied their weapons. A large bison burst through the doors and took a fighting stance. Hightower and The Hood fired, but their weapons had no effect. The Maid came in from behind and jabbed him in the back of the knee, but it felt like just ramming her tonfa into concrete. And that was because it was.

The bison was a member of the PMFR named Walter West, and he could absorb any solid material to turn his skin into said material. His hero name was the Absorbing Bison and his skin was currently composed of solid concrete.

A sharp jolt of pain went up The Maid's arm from her failed attack, and the Absorbing Bison took advantage of his opponent's weakness. He lifted his leg off the ground and kicked back right into The Maid's face. The impact and subsequent slam into the wall knocked the old vixen out.

"Marian!" The Hood called in alarm.

"You bastards are screwed now," the bison boasted before charging at The Hood. The taser arrow proved useless and The Hood was barely able to roll to the side. The bison was surprisingly agile for his size and turned with The Hood, a quick but strong punch connected with the bow and broke the weapon. The Hood desperately tried to escape his opponent, but Hightower's earlier warning proved true, he just wasn't agile enough anymore. The armored vixen's attempts to distract the bison with her energy palm proved to be little more than a nuisance. Just as The Absorbing Bison was about to land a direct hit, a small explosion went off at his side.

Young Bullet rushed in to save her mentor, wielding her grenade launcher rather than the useless tranq pistols. With impressive speed she loaded another grenade and fired, knocking the already stumbling bison to the ground. "Get Marian out of here!" Young Bullet ordered while reloading her launcher.

The Hood locked at his destroyed weapon, but there was no time to mourn the loss of the venerable bow, "Right, be careful" he warned before running off. He stepped around Hightower who was still pelting the bison.

The Absorbing Bison took several more blasts from Young Bullet, but she could tell that he hadn't been defeated yet. He was digging the hand that was facing away from Young Bullet into the ground in an attempt to get some footing. At least that's what Young Bullet thought he was doing. She was proven wrong when, as she fired her seventh grenade, the Absorbing Bison jumped to the side and hurled the large piece of the floor he'd dug up right at her. Young Bullet had to roll sharply to her left to dodge the attack, but that left her open to the bison's follow up. A concrete hand snagged her by the leg and Young Bullet was quickly smashed into the ceiling twice in quick succession. The Absorbing Bison let her fall with one hand and, just as she reached his eye level, punched her full force with the other.

Young Bullet's unconscious body sailed out into the field and over the retreating Hood. The old fox took a moment to absorb the sight before turning to see the bison staring him down.

"No one messes with this lab or my friends and gets away with it," the bison snarled in anger before charging at The Hood once more. The Hood tossed The Maid to the side and definitely took an arrow in each hand, but before the bison reached him he felt something heavy press against his shoulder.

Chime had been running low to the ground to avoid the Absorbing Bison's sight. She jumped, used the Hood's shoulders as a springboard and let her sonic scream loose on the charging bison. The out of nowhere attack sent the bison to the ground, his ears ringing from the sheer loudness of it. Chime landed and, ignoring The Hood's cry of pain from his shoulders, unleashed another scream at point blank range on her teammate. The blast was powerful enough to hurl the massive bison off the ground and back towards the front entrance. He landed at Hightower's feet and the old vixen saw that he was passed out, his body returning to normal flesh and blood.

Not confident she could hold the front by herself, Hightower retreated.

The Absorbing Bison's attack had been deliberately timed. Vizor, the wolf leader of the PMFR, knew he wasn't a match for many of the powered mammals present so decided to bide his time. His target was the alternet, and clearly younger, The Mage. The younger wolf had been sticking to his initial orders and had avoided nearly all fighting in favor of using his hacking wand. Vizor knew from the occasional team up he'd had with Ceartais that the wand was a ridiculously useful piece of utility and that the Mage was one of the more vulnerable members of the team. Any sadness over thinking of his world's departed hero reflected in his counterpart or confusion over why they were fighting was quickly pushed aside by the steelblood in his mind. All of The Mage's allies were occupied save for a single bow yielding bunny, Vizor seized his chance.

Step one was to close in, and Vizor quietly slipped around, using the earth walls and the occasional downed mammal as cover. Soon he was close enough to make his move. He leapt over the earth wall and called, "Mage look out!"

The distraction worked. The Young Mage looked in his direction as planned, but the bunny guard instead looked over to The Mage to see what was going on. That was all the opening Vizor needed to unload a small mammal tranq dart into Jack's chest. The bunny collapsed and The Young Mage was left alone. Information overload worked in Vizor's favor as The Young Mage was overwhelmed by the rapid series of events, and that gave Vizor the time he needed to close in. His target wasn't the wolf, but the wand. He snatched the wand out of his hand and forward rolled away. Vizor didn't hesitate to bring his fist down on the wand, snapping the device though not breaking it altogether.

It didn't matter that a flashbang card sailed past his head and went off a moment later, nor did it matter that he was left vulnerable to a flurry of punches and kicks. He'd taken out the wand and at least one member of the much smaller enemy team, and The Absorbing Bison was no donut wrecking havoc. Those comforting thoughts accompanied the wolf tactician as he lost consciousness.

On the fourth floor balcony overlooking the left side of the field, The Crimson Banshee took down the last of the ZPD officers on the upper floors. After defeating Scar the ghostly hybrid had scoured the upper floors for any mammal, drone or turret and had methodically taken them out, making things much easier on the left field group down below.

"Crimson!" a somewhat panicked voice called. He looked over the railing to see Blade Dancer standing to the side of an expanding cloud of gas. "Judy and Yueri are on the other side of that cloud, give me a lift over!'

Crimson saw that the cloud expanded quite a ways and couldn't see Chief Wilde on the other side. He vaulted over the railing but it seemed to him that he was falling slower than usual. He knew something was up when Blade Dancer began floating up. Both mammals quickly rose past the second floor.

Crimson looked around in confusion while flailing his limbs uselessly. "It's Chiffon!" Blade Dancer shouted. At Crimson's confused look, she explained, "She's a stoat who can control gravity!" Blade Dancer knew how the PMFR's smallest member operated, she had to be nearby for her very taxing powers to work. She couldn't see her, but someone down below could. "Bullet!"

Shadow Bullet heard her name called and realized that her teammate and Blade Dancer weren't just above her, but floating there. "What the hell?"

"Stoat, nearby, can control gravity," Blade Dancer listed off. Shadow Bullet needed no further explanation and reached out with her pulse. Through the havoc still playing out on the field, she picked up a tiny form hidden behind a pillar at the edge of the field on the ground floor. Shadow Bullet advanced to the side of the field first, while Young Andreste stuck close to the cloud.

_She's forming a pincer attack with me, clever._ Shadow Bullet silently praised as she closed in. Shadow Bullet sensed the stoat was within shooting range and Andraste jumped in the air to get a better angle. Shadow Bullet fired her shotgun, knowing she was far enough away that the pellets would only hurt the stoat, since her tranqs were useless. Both the arrow and the pellets veered off course at an upward angle. Chiffon was onto them and both mammals knew it when they were also lifted into the air. Andraste floated up with Crimson and Blade Dancer, but Shadow Bullet was slammed into the ceiling then dropped. The process repeated several times during which she dropped her weapon. The dazed gunslinger only saw a glimpse of a ZPD wolf officer below her before a tranq dart was fired.

Chiffon could feel the sweet pouring down her face, using her powers on so many targets at once was always exhausting. Shadow Bullet was down, but the other three were still floating in the air. Her guards were about to head out and tranq them when a card sliced through the air right at them. Trickster's shrapnel card started to float up and away, but exploded and released it's payload while still in range of the stoat. Chiffon gasped and dove for the floor, briefly releasing her hold on the three mammals in the air.

A few shouts of surprise came from the sudden drop, but Chiffon composed herself and recaught the three mammals. This time Trickster was also caught and floated up.

"You could show a little concern," Chiffon huffed in exasperation at her guards. The ZPD were silent. _What's wrong with…_

_Focus on the mission._

_They're focused on the battle, and I should be too._ Chiffon focused on the mammals in her grasp, they still needed to be dealt with and she couldn't hold them forever. "Get them now!" She called. Her squad ran out and fired four darts upwards, but none of them worked. Blade Dancer and Andraste easily deflected theirs, Trickster intercepted his with a card and Crimson was immune. Seeing the four were too focused to be taken out easily, Chiffon came up with another strategy.

Up above, Crimson was now well above the fifth floor and could now clearly see what was happening on the other side of the gas cloud. His heart sank at the sight of Yueri and Aaron with their backs to the cloud with only Kiara and Judy to guard them. Yueri was using her sonic cannon and even Aaron was occasionally throwing something with his telekinesis, but they were still outnumbered. He witnessed a female warthog tackle the lioness agent into the cloud before he was suddenly dropped.

Chiffon let the four drop a few stories before suddenly catching them again, hoping that the sudden fall and jerking stop would leave them vulnerable. Crimson was unaffected of course, and Yueri phased through the dart on instinct. Young Andraste was cleanly darted and Chiffon let her fall, but Trickster got annoyingly lucky when he threw a handful of cards towards the ground as a shield. The dart happened to hit a flashabng card and set it off, blinding the ZPD down below. Realizing he had a way of fighting back, Trickster methodically set off several flashbangs in a row, each timed to follow the last and keep the mammals down below distracted. Trickster's shield of light quickly ceased when a thick string of stick glue shot out from the balcony and pulled the wolf out of the fight.

"Damn it!" Chiffon gasped, her scheme had only defeated one of the four and the wolf would've outlasted her if not for some unseen allies' intervention. She was sweating and taking tired breaths frequently to try and calm the aches around her small body. So much so that she didn't register the prick on her leg as anything serious. As she began to refocus her powers, she saw that it wasn't just the two remaining foes that were lifted. Spreading out from the little stoat, the whole building was starting to rise. Chunks of the ground, fallen mammals, the walls and floors in uneven pieces, everything. "NO!" Chiffon screamed, she tried to turn off her powers, but it didn't work. The stoat watched her worst fears of losing control of her powers play out in vivid detail.

"Desole, little hero," Chiffon turned to see a white bunny blowing a cloud of dust in her face. The stoat felt woozy for a moment before sleep mercifully claimed her. Ronin pulled her mask up and sighed, not happy at having to use her nightmare needle on someone who was likely a hero.

"We need to get back to Mrs. Wilde!" Blade Dancer called. She and Crimson had landed now that Chiffon was out. The ZPD had been taken out by an invisible Fuli using their own darts against them.

"Oui,' Ronin agreed. Crimson scooped up both bunnies and jumped up to the higher floors. On the way up he caught a glimpse of Trickster defeating Gluestick. The sticky goo producing bunny was not much of a combatant and Trickster had easily disposed of him. Crimson jumped over the highest point of the cloud to get to Judy while Trickster made his way to a nearby staircase.

While Chiffon's trap was being sprung, Judy and Yueri were dealing with the horrifying aftermath of Samantha's gas attack. The two were separated from their escort and there were still plenty of cops around. Kiara had rushed to their aid, but they were cornered against the cloud which was still expanding. At least Judy was getting a feel for the sword, she'd never say it out loud, but the weapon was really more of a club with its energy field around it then anything else. Between the sword, Alice's cannon and even Aaron hurling a knocked out rhino at an unsuspecting lion, it looked like they were making some progress.

Then an all too familiar lady warthog barreled into Kiara's side and sent her into the cloud. Kiara struggled to get up but the gas overwhelmed her. Judy recognized her officers anywhere, even other dimensions. "Anders," she whispered. Unwanted flashbacks of the time she'd fought the Anders of her precinct came to the bunny. One of her most promising younger officers betrayed her for the Drowned and beat both her and Aleks Rojak in the process. It was only Nala's timey rescue that saved a weird way it had been a relief when she learned that Anders was brainwashed and had not betrayed her willingly.

Now she was facing a mind controlled Anders yet again. Judy gripped her sword and charged, determined to end the fight quickly. Anders read her move and jumped over the bunny, sending a downward kick that Judy barely dodged in the process. Anders landed, and was immediately met with a sonic cannon blast courtesy of Yueri. Judy smirked, her attempt at making history repeat itself had worked. A simple slash later and Anders was unconscious, just in time for Crimson to arrive with Ronin and Blade Dancer.

Up above, Ryan had finished healing after a painful period of regrowing his leg. The long wait had left him with nothing but his thoughts as he could only speculate what had transpired below. His clothes had been shredded by the various attacks he took earlier, so all he had left were the remains of his pants. They now resembled uneven cargo shorts more than anything else. "Next time I won't give them the chance to talk. No, no there won't be a next time!" Ryan rambled as he made his way to the balcony on the second floor. He was greeted with a sight that shook him to his core. All around the field mammals were unconscious, destroyed drones were scattered and fights raged on. He saw the Hellfire in ruin towards the middle, ZPD officers lay scattered all over the ground in front of him, Mustang overwhelming Sergeant Red on the other side of the field, and other fights that were still ongoing.

"This wasn't what I wanted," Ryan said aloud with a quiet despair. Then his features twisted into a snarl of anger, "This isn't supposed to happen!"

"Yeah well you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and elephants,' a cocky voice taunted from behind. Ryan turned and froze at the sight of Trickster staring him down from the hallway. It was one thing to see his fallen friend through the eyes of his puppet Sirius, it was another thing entirely to confront him face to face.

"Kodi," Ryan mumbled.

"The name's Trickster, and you're the bastard responsible for all this right?"

"NO! This is Robyn's fault," Ryan shouted.

"Right, delusional, got it," Trickster deadpanned, "Not like I haven't taken down your type before." Trickster hurled a flashbang as his opening move.

Ryan had trained with his Kodi countless times since they formed Ceartais and knew how to deal with this move. He fell to his side and did a sideways role hop that was timed so he was facing down just as the flash went off. Ryan jumped to his feet after the role, only to step right onto a small square of taser cards.

Trickster had unknowingly recreated the move The Mage of this dimension had used to win his last battle, but he wasn't done. "And for my next trick," he rushed forward and slammed two handfuls of shrapnel cards right into Ryan's chest and stomach.

Ryan screamed in agony as his organs were shredded by small pieces of metal, some passed through him, some lodged in his ribs, but worst of all were the ones that became tangled in his organs. Ryan could barely focus as he shut his eyes and mentally begged his healing to kick in faster, and it was made no easier when Trickster roundhouse kicked him in the gut and sent him to the ground.

_Kodi why?_ Ryan asked in his hazy delirium, _you've never hurt me except, except when I did that awful thing to you. You were still my friend, you kept it a secret, you even tried to help me. You were, you…_Ryan steadied himself as his healing pulled his innards back together. "You, Kodi…" he muttered. "You aren't him!" Ryan shot up to a sitting position and glared daggers at Trickster.

"Not the one you know, but I am Kodi Jones," Trickster retorted while preparing another handful of cards. He wasn't ready for Ryan to pounce forward and headbut him hard in the gut.

"Nothing but a cheap knockoff!" Ryan screamed before grabbing Trickster by the throat and hurling him against the wall. "A pale imitation!" Next he grabbed the wolf by his leg and slammed him to the ground. 'You can never by a tenth of the mammal he was!" Ryan picked up Trickster by the back of his head and yelled in his face before throwing him at the balcony railing. The throw was high and Trickster went over the railing, his legs clipping them and causing him to fall down head first.

Ryan took several calming breaths as he walked forward, then stopped when he realized what he'd done. _I just threw a mammal, Kodi, off of...the second story head first!_ A fall in that manner would most certainly be fatal, and Ryan realized too late he may have just killed, no, he couldn't think like that.

He reached the railing and looked down expecting to see a dead wolf on the ground. Instead he saw a leopard wearing a PMR Labs security uniform clutching the upsidedown wolf to her side. Ryan didn't get a better look because a ring of orange opened beneath the two and the leopard let go, the two reappeared in the middle of the field.

Ryan knew many eyes were likely on him after he nearly killed a mammal for the second time that day. Having no desire to repeat the earlier punishment he'd taken, Ryan turned and ran back inside the building. He subconsciously focused on how to get back to the command center, but his own actions were on the forefront of his mind.

_I nearly killed...all this madness is making me mess up. I need to get things back under control before...anything else happens._

000

In the short time he'd left the fight to check on Maiden, The Mage could see that they'd lost a lot of mammals and more still were growing tired. Mage's attention was drawn to Sergeant Red, who wasn't far from where he'd taken flight.

The hybrid was fast losing his fight with Mustang, the stallion completely out-ranged him and was faster and just as strong. Red did not have the martial arts expertise needed to exploit the horse's lower defenses. Ronan desperately tried to jump up and over Mustang to deliver a blow to the back of the head, but his opponent easily read his move. Mustang jumped straight up and twisted his body to deliver a brutal spike kick that sent Red straight to the ground. He wouldn't get to enjoy the victory. Mustang saw something out of the corner of his eye and turned his head to see The Mage flying towards him. The stallion was not prepared for the massive demon hand that emerged from the wolf's card and his trashing did him little good.

Prime Bullet and Skye were tending to Red when The Mage landed next to them. In his hand was a card depicting a heroic stallion unknowingly bound by chains made of machinery. "You okay officer?"

Red sat up with a groan, "Yes, I've felt worse, we met when it happened." Red referenced the toxins Phelps had used to overwhelm his steelblood.

"It really is you," Skye stated, " Judy you lucky bunny."

"You're Ronan right?" Prime Bullet asked, wanting confirmation.

Red nodded, "I am, and you're the lucky Wilde Savage, correct?"

"Yeah, lucky," Prime Bullet sighed.

Red noticed the depressed face immediately, "You know she spent a good chunk of time these past several days looking into a mirror for you, she was more worried about you than anyone else back home."

"I know I'm lucky to have her, but I took that for granted," Prime Bullet echoed Rocket's quote.

"Well from my perspective she doesn't love you any less," Red said plainly.

"He's right Hannah," The Mage agreed, never taking his eyes off the rest of the field, "I know you messed things up, but getting miserable about it won't solve anything. Learn from what you did wrong so you can be better going forward."

Prime Bullet was caught off guard by her friend's advice, "Are you speaking from experience?"

"Robyn and I made up," The Mage said.

"What? Really?" Prime Bullet asked as she got back to her feet. The Mage's confirming nod caused a wide smile to cross her face. Finally things might be looking up.

"Shit!" The Mage shouted as he summoned an orange ring around his hand.

"What's going on?" Skye asked.

"Trickster got thrown off the balcony by...Ryan," The Mage reported as he saw the deranged hybrid step out into view. Trickster was saved when a leopard security guard teleported in to catch him, though both were now hanging from the first floor railing. The Mage's portal opened below them and deposited them in the middle of the field.

"It's Tanya," Red smiled at the sight. At their confused looks he explained, "She's the guard who met Robyn, Reginald and myself outfront and walked us in. She seemed to be sympathetic to our plight and it looks like the cure worked on her."

"The cure," Skye muttered, "is that really Nick and Judy's kid up...he's gone," Skye realized Ryan had run off.

"Yes," The Mage confirmed, "he went mad after my counterpart in this world died. He's got all of Robyn's pre purple sky powers and he's incredibly unstable and dangerous." _Trickster nearly got himself killed, and we're losing mammals fast. We need to finish this._ "Time for a change of plans," The Mage stated as he flew up into the air again.

Every member of the group with an earpiece heard the mammal who'd organized them initially speak up once again. "Everyone listen up, we're losing too many mammals to hold all the fronts, retreat to the middle of the field. Scarlet, take Red and Crimson and go after Ryan, we need to finish this. The rest of us can hold the line…" The Mage's speech was cut off suddenly. Marian was jamming their signal from up in the command center, but he'd already gotten the important stuff out. The Mage retook his position above the middle and began using his portals to safely retrieve their fallen allies while the remaining ones flocked to him.

"You've got this Robyn, just don't do anything reckless."

000

Ryan was just finishing preparing his final defense when the elevator to the command center pinged. "They're here," Marian siad unnecessarily. Felicia Otterton remained at her side, the loyal bodyguard's steelblood having reprogrammed her to protect Marian as dutifully as she would Mayor Bellwether.

"It's over Ryan," Scarlet stated as she, Crimson and Red steeped into the room.

"Your forces have been outmatched and we've still got plenty to go," Sergeant surmised.

"So stand down before you hurt anyone else," Crimson added.

Ryan turned to face them, but all three caught a glimpse of a small mechanical box attached to the back of his head. "Are you all familiar with what happens when we get shot in the head?"

Scarlet was not expecting that question, but answered, "We call it survival mode, we go savage and get a lot stronger while our brain heals."

"Yes yes, that's it," Ryan rambled out, "extremely dangerous but does tend to keep us safe, pity it was utterly uncontrollable."

"Was?" Red asked, not liking where this was going.

"Was," Ryan confirmed, "before the smartest mammal in this entire building found a way around that limitation!" Ryan gave a manic grin as the device on the back of his head punctured his brain with several sharp metal needles. It was designed to work with his steelblood to trigger survival mode without the loss of higher brain functions, as well as dull the pain from the needles. Despite Ryan's boasting, it wasn't a complete success. Ryan was haggard over and a noticeably feral look came over his face. Slanted eyes, deep breaths and a very angry disposition.

"Now! You! Will! Pay!" Ryan screamed as he rushed forward in a semi savage rage.

AN: And that chapter is finished, but the battle of the PMR Labs sure isn't. Ryan's got plenty of tricks up his sleeve still to play.

Next Time: The four siblings duke it out and Robyn puts several puzzle pieces together.

I promise the next one won't take a month to come out.


	23. Chapter 22: Ruby Rose

Last AN: "I promise the next chapter won't take a month to come out."

Well now I know how Alice feels not being able to keep a promise. Real life happened. This chapter being long and hard to write happened. Many distractions happened. But ultimately the chapter is finished and I hope you enjoy it. Thank you so much to everyone who has followed, favorited and reviewed the story, thank you to everyone who DM'd me asking if i was alright, and thank you for your patience. I won't keep you any longer, so here we go!

**Chapter 22: Ruby Rose**

_5 Years ago, Reginald's World_

The night seemed to be taunting him by being so normal. Such an occasion called for a full on downpour of rain to disguise the tears that rolled down cheeks. Instead the night in Sahara Square was like any other night, a slight breeze and the kind of cold mammals forget accompanies a desert in the night.

A teenage hybrid slammed his metal plated fist into an old brick wall, punching clean through. Hot sticky tears poured out of the skull mask's eye holes as well as down his cheeks from the inside. Sadness, guilt, wrath and defeat all swelled within the tempestuous mind of Regional Wilde; The Crimson Banshee.

_They're dead, dead!_ Reginald internally screamed as the images of the earlier battle played out in his mind without mercy. A thrown dagger splitting a bowstring and impaling an old fox in the chest. A nimble sword fighter climbing the back of a large bear and slitting his throat before he could be swiped away. In the end they'd killed, _killed, _all the members of the opposite group, but even a thousand deaths wouldn't change the simple, inescapable fact.

The Hood and Little John were dead, and Reginald had been powerless to save them.

It was quickly made clear how dangerous a foe they were dealing with. The amur leopard and white bunny they'd reluctantly teamed up with were the most impressive fighters Reginald had ever seen, and even they were struggling with the squad of, whatever they're enemies were. Trickster and Bullet had hung back and attacked from range only, a choice that no doubt saved their lives. The Crimson Banshee was different though. He could take the damage and keep fighting. Or at least he should've been able, but the pain of being sliced open was unlike anything Reginald had ever felt before. He'd doubled over in agony more times then he could count, and during that time…

"I should've been there!" Reginald screamed at the heavens, "I could've saved them!"

"I am not so sure, ghostly one," a calm voice replied. Reginald snapped around and saw the white bunny in a black sneaking suit they'd allied with earlier. She'd pulled down her hood and mask to reveal her beautiful white furred face and golden eyes.

"What are you doing here!?" Reginald demanded.

The bunny didn't flinch, "Your team was concerned about you, and with your leader's connection to the city's cameras still severed, I offered to track you down myself."

That got a pang of guilt from Reginald. _Of course they're worried about me, they're dealing with the same shit as me and they've got me running off._ "Fine," Reginald conceded, "let's head back."

"A burden shared is a burden lessened," the bunny said sagely, "I do not wish to think of what I would have become were I made to endure my trials without my mother with me."

"The leopard?" Reginald asked. The bunny nodded once in confirmation. "Nice sentiment, but none of my friends could've made the difference that I could've." Anger and sadness seeped back into Reginald's voice.

"Because of your...powers?" The bunny asked, still mentally processing the seemingly supernatural abilities of costumed fox before her.

"Yes because of my powers!" Reginald snapped. "You saw what I can come back from, but when my grandpa needed me most I was too busy screaming in pain! Screaming about something that would be gone in less than a minute while he and John got cut down!"

The bunny turned to face Reginald directly, "If that is your case against yourself, then you are no more guilty than any of your friends."

Reginald snarled, "What do you know…" he paused when he realized he didn't know the bunny's name.

"Slash," Slash realized his reason for pausing and took advantage of it. "And I've been trained since I was a mere child in the art of combat. I know what a fighter can do, and your powers may indeed be the ultimate safety net, but a shield they are not. Pain is as natural for you as it is any other mammal, because no matter how strong a mammal may be, they can still feel pain.

In his mind, Reginald knew that Slash had the right of it, but emotionally he wasn't ready to be anything other than angry. So he leapt as far as he could to get away from the bunny who was making too much sense for him. Slash followed as best she could, but the conversation was over. In the years to come, Reginald's future teammate and friend would often wonder if the hybrid had ever truly forgiven himself.

000

_4 Months ago, Ronan's World._

By all accounts the mission had gone off without a hitch. Phelps' elixir mammals and mechs had been taken down without a single enemy getting away. The group had suffered no injuries in the process and even the collateral damage was kept to a minimum. Short of Phelps himself still roaming free there was nothing to really complain about. Ray had even reported that the notoriously perfectionist Camelot heads had given him and Ceartais a light compliment. So it was understandably a concern for one member of the united groups when she noticed Sergeant Red wandered off to the changing room with a dejected look on his face.

Ronan Wilde sat down on one of the benches with a heavy sigh. He pulled down his scarf, pulled up his goggles and removed his helmet in a few seconds and set most of them aside. He only kept the goggles in hand and stared into his dim reflection in their lenses.

_The mission went perfectly, even though I…_

"What's troubling you Ronan?" The hybrid looked up to see that Ronin had followed him to the changing area. The former assassin and current Camelot operative had snuck up on him.

"Well Ronin, your codename is only one letter off from my civilian name and that can get confusing," Ronan attempted to pass on a bit of snark he'd heard Kodi complain about.

Ronin snorted and pulled her mask down, "Amusing Ronan, but that was not your best deflection."

Ronan knew he wasn't ending this conversation without giving some sort of answer, so he opted to just be truthful, "The mission went as close to perfectly as these things can go."

Alice tilted her head, "Yes it did, are you getting upset because you think this means we could've done better in previous fights?"

"No," Ronan shook his head, "the circumstances that let today go so well wouldn't apply to most prior battles."

"Then what…"

"What did I do during today's mission Alice?" Ronan interrupted.

Alice's surprise at the normally polite hybrid cutting her off was pushed aside as she tried to think of Sergeant Red's contributions and drew a blank.

"Exactly," Ronan sighed, "I barely did a thing, and this isn't the first time." Alice gestured for Ronan to continue. "I'm useless against drones and mechs, I'm sub optimal for facing elixir mammals, and the mercenaries tend to be off in the distance."

"You feel as though you aren't doing your part," Alice realized.

Ronan nodded, "When we made Ceartais a more public force, I always felt like I was making a difference. I could keep my friends and civilians safe and end most conflicts peacefully enough, now I can barely do anything."

_Coming from almost anyone else that wou;d've sounded utterly self centered_, Alice thought to herself, but she knew that with Ronan it was coming from his desire to help others and make the world better. _He really is his mother's son_, despite the situation Alice gave a small smile. "You really do hold yourself to the wrong high standard."

"What does that have to do with this?" Ronan looked up. "I hold myself to a high standard because I need to be that good." The young hybrid looked especially irritated at the direction the talk was taking.

"You are correct that having high standards isn't a bad thing," Alice clarified, "but you expect yourself to be the same mammal in the battle with Phelps as you were when you were protecting Zootopia after the Wave. And those two yous are incompatible."

"So I should just accept that I'm nearly useless now!"

"No, you should realize that you aren't always going to be able to do things the way you want to," Ronin countered, "you can't be the superpowered good cop now because the battlefield is no place for a peacekeeper. You need to change your approach."

Ronan looked down, embarrassed by his earlier outburst, "how would you go about that?"

"I'm a bunny Ronan, I'm the most vulnerable mammal in a room at any given moment most of the time. So I have to have a good eye on what's going on around me, and that means I'm always aware of the ways I can apply my skill set," Alice calmly listed off her approach to general combat.

"I have too narrow an approach," Ronan repeated to himself, already Alice could tell that the gears were spinning in Ronan's head.

_My work here is done_, Alice turned to walk away, but paused midstep. "Perhaps it would help if you had more ways to apply your skill set Ronan, maybe look into if Olivia can make some of your sister's cryo arrows for you. It would certainly be better than fighting mechs head on and going for unlikely eyeshots."

_3 Years ago, Robyn's World_

Cold metal sliced through flesh and one combatant went down again. The victor sheathed her sword and addressed the recovering loser. "That was a bit worse than last time Robyn."

Robyn sat up on the training mat, the slash on her side was already patched up. "Yeah," was all the somewhat dejected hybrid said.

Alice's voice was soft and unjudging, "Can you tell me why that is?"

Robyn threw her hand to the side in frustration, "Yeah! Because you started fighting like a completely different mammal."

Alice nodded, "Exactly, I was using a more...freestyle form of swordplay rather then my usual technique." The bunny knelt at her sparring partner's side, "You were starting to match me, but only because you and I have battled enough that you memorized my usual moves, like a particularly difficult video game boss."

Robyn snorted, "A gamer analogy, really?"

Alice shrugged and smiled, "Whatever gets the point across. Being good against one particular set of moves isn't going to do you much good long term."

"Because of what you said before?" Robyn asked, "That I should always fight as if my healing isn't a thing."

"Not always," Alice corrected, "there are many situations where relying on it could be useful, but fighting as if you'll always come out unscathed is bound to breed recklessness. Your healing isn't a shield…"

"It's a net," Robyn finished. Robyn took a sitting position to match Alice's and noticed that she was still much larger than the bunny even sitting down. "You'd know a lot about fighting as if you aren't the most dangerous thing in the room, wouldn't you?"

Alice was impressed Robyn had connected some rather distant dots together, "Well done, and yes Robyn, I have to fight with my defensive limits in mind at all times." Alice's eyes took on a distant look, and Robyn could tell she was remembering her many past battles as she spoke, "It's a mixed blessing, on one hand it helps me keep my focus at all times when it matters the most, but it's also nerve racking even after all these years."

"Guess I'll never know how that feels," Robyn sighed, knowing that she could only sympathize so much with the former assassin in this regard.

"While I would certainly hope that proves to be the case, it never hurts to be prepared for the worst," Alice cautioned her sister in law. "It's true that the only individuals who completely outmatch you physically are on the team, but Kiara is proof that our resources can fall into the wrong hands." Alice remembered how close to death she'd come when Kiara, going by Lily while she was with the Drowned, had pursued her through part of the destroyed city. It was one of her closest ever brushes with death.

"Not to mention restraining one of us if anything crazy ever happens," Robyn said in agreement.

"Another thought that I hope never comes to fruition," Alice sighed, "but enough of this break, another round." Immediately after Alice announced the start of another session she unsheathed her sword and swung up. The swing was deliberately poor so Robyn would have a proper chance to dodge, and the hybrid did just that. She then rolled backwards and landed on her feet, ready for whatever sword tricks Alice would try this time.

_Present Day, Ryan's World_

Ryan gave a manic grin as the device on the back of his head punctured his brain with several sharp metal needles. It was designed to work with his steelblood to trigger survival mode without the loss of higher brain functions, as well as dull the pain from the needles. Despite Ryan's boasting, it wasn't a complete success. Ryan was haggard over and a noticeably feral look came over his face. Slanted eyes, deep breaths and a very angry disposition.

"Now! You! Will! Pay!" Ryan screamed as he rushed forward in a semi savage rage.

The Undying Scarlet faced the oncoming beast with unexpected calmness. It was terrifying seeing a semi controlled survival mode Ryan charging, especially since she'd seen the damage she could do in that state, but it also helped her focus on exactly what she needed to do. Sergeant Red and The Crimson Banshee gasped when they saw Scarlet rush forward to meet Ryan head on. There would be no overpowering this opponent, nor was there a weak spot to exploit, they had to fight smart and that meant taking the initiative. Scarlet cupped her fists together and swung up at just the right moment, striking Ryan's head like it was a volleyball. Ryan's charge combined with Scarlet's strike propelled the attacking hybrid into the ceiling.

Sergeant Red was still stunned by Ryan's horrifying transformation and barely reacted when Scarlet uppercut the savage hybrid out of his charge. His ally didn't hesitate. The Crimson Banshee jumped up and slammed one of his metal plated fists into Ryan's face as he came down, sending him towards Marian's station. Marian winced at the sound of her grandson's jaw breaking but didn't turn away from her keyboard. Red watched as Felicia Otterton threw up her barrier and Ryan bounced off of it, flinging him across the room into an abandoned station.

That got Red's attention, _if she decides to tag team us with Ryan we're finished_. Ryan diverted his attention to the otter while Scarlet and Crimson pressed the attack on Ryan. _I need to know what that barrier can do!_ Wasting no more time, Red whipped out his tranq pistol and fired. He only had the clip Prime Bullet had tossed him when he'd run out back on the field, so he had to make them count. Felicia easily deflected the shot, but Red witnessed the shield dissipate immediately after. He fired two more shots in rapid succession and both were deflected, and that was all the info Red needed. _She needs to reactive her powers after every contact with her shield, and she can do it fast._

Red moved in quickly on the small otter. He holstered his gun and deliberately made his advance as menacing as he could. Snarling, heavy steps and clenched fists. Felicia tensed up as she prepared to defend herself, then activated her shield as Red pounced. The Sergeant landed and lunged forward at the otter, but suddenly swung himself to the side just before he reached the barrier.

Felecia watched in confusion as her barrier pulsed once and vanished. Her eyes followed the pulse to its origin and saw that Red had whipped it with his tail. That half second distraction cost her the fight, Red's arm rushed forward and delivered a hard palm strike to Felicia's body. She may have been tough for an otter, but Felicia was still a small otter and the restrained palm strike was enough to knock her out when she slammed into the metal stand of Marian's station.

Red only took a moment to admire his handiwork before jumping up to go after Marian, ignoring the screams from the other end of the room. The old vixen turned to him and sighed, "This will hurt."

"I'll make it quick Mari…"

"Ronan dodge!" Scarlet screamed.

Red couldn't do more than turn his head slightly before Ryan slammed head first into the base of his spine. Bones broke, his legs went limp, Ryan tore at his right arm. The ball was ripped out of the socket, and when Ryan hurled Red away he kept his grip on his wrist. The whole arm came loose and Red crashed into an abandoned control panel. Red slumped to the ground before finally being able to scream in pain.

"You've taken too much from me today," Ryan snarled as he threw Red's arm aside and prepared to pounce and the injured hybrid. Going for Red had left his backside open, and he'd only disabled Crimson before attacking. Scarlet jumped up to the ceiling before propelling herself down at Ryan. Her feet landed on his back and knocked him to the ground. She moved to punch the device on the back of his head, but his hand reached around and grabbed her ankle first. Scarlet was smashed against the floor and several walls all while Ryan delivered several brutal punches. The four could hit as hard as grown elephants in their normal state, so the enhanced strength of survival mode was more force than anything Scarlet had ever felt before.

The assault was cut short when Crimson came to the rescue. Rather than using his fists, Crimson had grabbed some long pipes from a destroyed station. He impaled Ryan through the back and drove the two pipes into the floor. Metal tore through flesh, muscle and metal with a sickening array of sounds that matched the savagery of the brawl. Ryan thrashed against the ground, but Crimson's attack gave the three some breathing room. Scarlet pushed herself to a sitting position as her rib cage reset itself and Crimson tossed Red his arm. Already Ryan was getting his hands under his chest to pull the pipes out of the ground.

Sergeant Red's head was turned to look at the fight from his resting position. His wiggling toes told him that his spine was healed, so he grabbed at the trashed panel to help him back to his feet. A sharp pain jolted through Red's hand and he fell back to the floor. He turned to see that he had grabbed a loose group of wires that were lightly crackling with electricity. As he caught his breath Red turned back to his siblings. Scarlet and Crimson were attempting to keep Ryan pinned down, but they were fast running out of debris to use as effective pins and Ryan was still healing off anything they tried.

_Reginald's got the right idea, he's still going to feel anything we do to him. But that isn't going to beat him, just delay him, we need something that lasts longer._ Red turned back to the panel to try and find a better place to pull himself up and his eyes were drawn to the loose wires. His head snapped back and forth between Ryan and the wires several times as a plan formed in his head.

Crimson was focused on one of the broken pipes he'd used to pin Ryan initially, it had been snapped and yanked out by the feral hybrid but maybe it could still be of use. His desperate musing was interrupted when Red's still severed arm bonked him in the head. It took Crimson a few moments to gather himself before shooting his brother an incredulous look. Red was holding a single finger in front of his mouth in a shushing gesture, beforeing pointing back and forth between Ryan and the sparking wires. Red's face went from pleading to annoyed as he kept pointing back and forth and Crimson's expression remained unchanged.

_What is Ronan thinking? Did he just get knocked on the head too hard, no that doesn't work on us. Ronan's got a plan but what does loose wiring have to do with Ryan? _Crimson's thoughts were interrupted when Red threw up his one arm in exasperation and grabbed the wires again. After the electric surge pain wore off he once again pointed between the wires and Ryan. Crimson's expression changed from shocked to quiet realization and Red facepalmed at how long it had taken.

"Crimson I need help!" Scarlet called. Ryan was nearly free of the last pipe. Crimson nodded to Red before tossing his arm back once more and going to help Scarlet. Red aligned his arm with the empty socked and shoved it back in with a pained yell, thankfully his steelblood kicked in to handle the rest.. Red zoned out the sounds of his siblings fighting and his own pain to focus on the panel. He wasn't a tech expert like Olivia or Marian, but all the time fighting Phelps' mechs meant he knew how to break a machine. Wires were severed at just the right place, space was cleared out to make a hybrid sized hole, the station was kept just functional enough that electricity still coursed through it. Red looked at his quick work and was satisfied that it would do the job, now he just needed to get Ryan into it.

A quick look at the battle revealed the flaw in that plan.

"This worked so well the first time!" Ryan grinned as he ripped both of Crimson's arms off and stomped on his upper leg hard enough to snap the femur. A roundhouse kick from Ryan accompanied Crimson's screams of pain and sent the Crimson Banshee off to the side and out of the fight. "Looks like you do talk in your Halloween costume after all!" Ryan mocked Crimson as he turned to face Scarlet. Ryan had his back turned to Red and the Sergeant saw his chance. As quietly as he could, Red stuck up behind Ryan and attempted to grab him for a throw into his trap.

Scarlet gave no indication that she saw Red approaching and calmly held her position in front of Ryan. Ryan was still grinning his savage smile, "You know sis, even though we're almost indestructible, there are still ways to take us out. You could pin us like Reginald tried earlier, or you can cut off oxygen to the throat," Ryan took a crouched position like he was ready to pounce at Scarlet, "like this!" Ryan spun around just as Red reached his backside and punched him hard in the throat. The moment of shock that came over Scarlet was all Ryan needed to finish the job. Ryan grabbed the gagging Sergeant by the scruff of his neck and leaped in the air, he savored the fear in Red's eyes for a moment before hurling him into the ground floor hard enough that he broke through and fell to the level below.

"And then there was one," Ryan cackled wildly as he turned to Scarlet. "All alone again sis, and we both know how that feels!" Ryan was right, fear and sadness in equal measure threatened to overwhelm the lone hybrid. Red's quite approach had at least clued Scarlet in on the trap, but at this point it felt so far out of reach.

_This can't be it, I can't let everyone down, I need to…_

_Focus_, Alice's words came back to Scarlet, _you'll never know greater focus than when you keep a level head and your life is on the line_.

Ryan was giving a speech that was probably meant to break her but Scarlet wasn't paying attention to his words, only his body language. _He's not in an offensive stance, he thinks he's won already._ Ryan was still directly between Scarlet and the electric trap, but Scarlet was alone now. _I just need to get him into that trap, but he's stronger, faster...dumber but not dumb enough. I need a way to disable him even for just a moment!_

_You can cut off the oxygen to the throat_, Ryan's earlier words came back to Scarlet, and a plan started to form in her head. _Reginald had the idea, Ronan set the trap, Ryan gave the know how, now all I have to do is fight it out. It's like we're all teaming up here. _With that happy thought, Scarlet gave a weak chuckle.

"Why are you laughing?" Ryan demanded. He was not expecting any positive emotion out of Robyn, and it's presence made him shuffle back and forth in worry.

Scarlet locked eyes with Ryan and explained, "Just realized how often you've been your own worst enemy is all," she shifted her feet, "allow me to knock you off that pedestal!" She dashed forward, hoping from side to side as she closed the distance.

Ryan groaned, "All that build up for that! Lame," he stood his ground and prepared to grab Scarlet. She hopped to the side one last time before attacking from his left, he easily leaned back and her punch went by his face. One hand shot forward to grab her throat while the other restrained her other arm. "What did you think was gonna happen sis?" He sounded disappointed and relieved at the same time.

"How'd you," Scarlet gasped, "deal with blades?"

"Blades?" Ryan asked for clarification, only to feel a sharp object poke his neck. His eyes widened in fear for a moment before Scarlet pulled her arm back and slit his throat with the spikes on her gauntlet. The earlier punch had been a ruse. Ryan's grip loosened and Scarlet seized her chance. She swept Ryan's legs out from under him and tackled him forward.

"I prefer not to be sliced up bro," Scarlet taunted. Her hand shot up and grabbed his throat to guide his head right into Red's trap. Ryan, his head knocked back by Scarlet's tackle, saw the oncoming electric wires from an upside down perspective and his panicked flailing proved ineffective at the late stage. With a final grunt of effort, Scarlet shoved the device on the back of Ryan's head into the exposed wires.

Electricity coursed through both of their bodies, but it was far worse for Ryan. Scarlet used her position on top to force Ryan down into more of the wires before a lucky kick dislodged her. Scarlet watched as Ryan screamed and convulsed in pain, only breaking concentration when Red and Crimson walked up to her side, the former helping the later reattach his arms. The three said nothing for a few moments but Marian's call drew their attention.

"I'm shutting down the power now!" And indeed the electricity stopped and Ryan pushed himself free before falling to the ground facefirst. He was still breathing but was otherwise unmoving.

"We need some way to restrain him!' Red stated.

"How? He's five times stronger than us," Crimson demanded.

"Maybe we take away his power up?" Scarlet suggested before leaning down and attempting to dislodge the survival mode enabler from the back of Ryan's head, but it didn't budge. "How'd he manage this?" Scarlet cried in frustration.

"He must've modified his steelblood...and we do have an answer for that," Red realized and pulled out a syringe of the cure. "This is my last one."

"Then let's make sure we get him," Crimson said as he pulled out his last syringe. Scarlet did the same with hers, silently thinking Bella-Olivia for repurposing the high damage resistant cases they used for delicate objects on short notice. Otherwise the syringes would not have survived the battle. With a final set of nods, the siblings injected Ryan with the cure.

For several seconds there was nothing but the concern that Ryan's steelblood would push the cure out. Then Ryan started to scream. "Pin him!" Red called. He and Crimson each took an arm and held it down while applying pressure to the back, Scarlet held the head in place.

"Get, out!" Ryan pleaded, "get it out of my head!" Slowly but surely the survival mode enabler was being pushed out of his head. Scarlet took pity on Ryan and carefully inserted a hand between the device and his head, applying enough force to help the steelblood in the process. "Get it out!" With a final pull the device came loose. Scarlet dropped it to the side and Crimson made a point of immediately crushing it underfoot. "Get it out," Ryan's screams became pleading sobs as he continued to weakly thrash about, the siblings easily kept him pinned. None of them knew what else to do but wait it out. Finally Ryan's thrashing died down and he went limp, but unlike the others given the cure, he was still conscious.

Scarlet knelt down to meet him at eye level, "Ryan, can you understand me?"

An unsettling change came over Ryan. it took him a few seconds to focus in on her, then she was met with an intense stare as Ryan seemed to be inspecting her. He looked around quickly as if to confirm his surroundings, all the while his breathing became faster and faster, before he finally noticed Marian still working at her keyboard. A wail of sheer grief exploded out of Ryan's mouth, though he made no attempt to thrash this time. The sobbing returned in tandem with the wail and they went back and forth on which one was more dominant. It was a depressing scene for all in attendance, seeing the former hero so broken, but at least one mammal stayed on task.

"Well done you three, but your friends are still in a bad spot down below. You'll have to take me out to disable the drones," Marian called from her station, a sad smile gracing her face.

"Anyone got any more of the cure?" Scarlet asked. Upon receiving two negative head shakes she sighed and walked over to Marian. "I'll make this as painless as I can not Nana."

"Thank you sweetie, but focus on finishing this, it's almost over."

"Alright," Scarlet pulled back a fist, "here go…"

"Stop!" Ryan shouted. All four mammals turned to him and saw his features, while still grief stricken, were a good deal more focused. "Don't hurt her! Just give me a minute to, damn it what were the release words? Right! Be a drone, drone release sequence initiate!"

Marian's body went stiff and straight, the posture of the drones on standby, "Release sequence initiated," Marian said in a monotone voice, "password needed."

"Tundra!" Ryan choked out through his sobs. Marian let out a gasp and quickly looked around before her eyes fell on Ryan with a curious expression. "Your free Nana," Ryan sighed.

Marian took several cautious steps towards Ryan and the brothers. When she reached him the two shared a brief look before Ryan bowed his head. Marian seized his chin in one hand, raised it up, and then slapped him with all of her strength.

Ryan's head didn't move much due to his strength and Marain clutched her wrist in pain, likely more hurt by the attack then Ryan was. "You think this changes anything!" Marian shouted in her grandson's face. "Even putting aside the utter lunacy of your steelblood plan, why did you leave me aware of what was happening all this time!?"

"You, you deserved to know," Ryan sputtered out.

"Oh I deserved to live through your mind control completely aware of every horrible thing I was doing!" Marian was borderline apoplectic.

"I don't believe that…" Ryan tried to say.

"Who cares what you have to say," Marian interrupted.

"Nana!" Scarlet called, "are you going to disable those mechs now or what? That's kind of more important than yelling at someone who's already lost!"

The furious look slipped off Marian's face to be replaced by a guilty one of her own. With only one last glare at Ryan she raced back over to her station. A minute later she spoke up, "Mechs and machine drones disbaled."

"What about the living drones?" Red asked.

"Your Mage severed my connection with them earlier in the battle. Even if I could reestablish a link there's a security function that causes a drone to ignore external orders until an hour has passed if they lose connection," Marian looked at a timer she'd set up earlier,"and we aren't even at the halfway point."

"What's that flashing light?" Scarlet pointed to a glowing envelope in the lower screen.

"Notifications," Marain answered plainly, "suppose I should check to see...yup, seven counts of the steelblood losing connection with its host. Looks like they hit Kion, Vizor and Mustang with that cure of yours." Marian turned to smile at the three before her wounds registered. "Wait, seven? Why can't I see the last one?" Marian's attempt to see the last freed mammal yielded only an access denied message.

"I'm sorry seven?" Crimson called, "how'd we make it to that many?"

"There was Tanya, the security guard who led us in," Red began counting, "we got this world's Skye during the battle, and Marian just now so that's three, then they must've freed this world's Kion and the other two after we left."

"Still only six," Crimson pointed out.

"Ryan," Scarlet said. Making the hybrid in question draw a deep breath.

"You think he knows?" Marian asked.

"He's the seventh," Scarlet replied, "we just gave him a triple injection of the cure." Everyone turned to Ryan for confirmation, there were a lot of implications if he was under steelblood control and most of it was terrifying to consider. Ryan gave a single nod at Scarlet, but didn't say anything.

Marian's mind was reeling, horror at the thought that there was a greater mastermind in play, but also, "Ryan...I."

"Don't," Ryan interrupted, "don't apologize N, Nana." He looked up at Marian and she saw shame etched onto his face, eyes bloodshot from tears. "It's be, because of m, m, me," Ryan sounded like he was forcing every word out.

"I don't understand," Marian uttered in confusion. A feeling that was shared by the three siblings.

Ryan looked around at the assembled mammals before sighing in resignation, "There is no one above me, I created the mind hacking steelblood...and it was inside me because I, I...I used it on myself!"

Ryan's confession left the others silent and still, the sheer wrongness of Ryan's words left all of them short of a response.

"It started small," Ryan spoke up again, "just a confidence boost, like what some mammals describe using certain drugs for, only no drugs." The last bit was added after a brief pause when Ryan felt the need to clarify. No response. "I was throwing myself into working on steelblood, anything to distract myself, except I wasn't really distracting myself I just needed to be doing something, anything…" Ryan trailed off.

"Even," Marian paused after her first word, having spoken before she had a coherent thought. "Even accepting the absolute stupidity of using mind altering on yourself, I don't see how that leads to…all of this!" Marian swung her arm in an arc across the control room to indicate the damage and the unconscious guards.

Ryan looked towards the shattered window with a fearful look before answering. "It was never one big push, more like a storm at sea of terrible decisions one wave after the other."

"Don't try and get out of this with flowery language Ryan," Red ordered, "we want details."

"Did you mind jack Mom and Dad for one!" Crimson sneered. Ryan ignored the question and kept his eyes fixed on the field through the window. Scarlet followed his gaze and saw Kodi's shield bubble was back up.

_This is his first time seeing Kodi, any Kodi, again without steelblood in his mind._ Despite not having hard evidence yet, Scarlet's gut told her that Ryan was telling the truth about his self brainwashing. She was also sure that there was at least one thing Ryan was still hiding.

Red turned to Marian, 'Do you believe him?" He had an unsure look on his face.

'Obviously the steelblood exists," Marian sighed, "and the confidence boost part checks out. He's good at masking it, he's a good show-mammal in general, but Ryan's always had a fairly low opinion of himself and his abilities. Or at least anything not tech related."

"But that still begs the question," Scarlet finally spoke up, "what pushed you over the edge Ryan? What led to all of this?"

"Kodi," Ryan's response was quick and quiet.

"Yeah but..."

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Crimson's attempt at a question was cut off by the sound of an alarm coming from Marian's panel. The vixen dashed over and opened the message, her eyes widening in horror as she read the contents.

"Nana what's happening!?" Ryan called. He knew full well that this specific alarm was only used for things going wrong with the lab's machinery.

"The dimensional thinner is overheating!" Marian shouted.

"What?" Ryan screamed as he broke free from Red's grasp and raced over, "how can this be happening, the battle is nowhere close to the underground lab!?"

"Just be quiet and me a moment," Marian typed furiously, reading as fast as she could without losing any details. She did a quick check of the clocks before suddenly turning to Scarlet. "Robyn what was that weird blue pulse you used before everyone showed up? Because the report says the dimension thinner started experiencing problems right after it."

Scarlet looked uncomfortable with everyone's eyes on her, especially since she barely had a clue as to what Arthur's sword actually was. Hell he barely knew. "It's an alien technology magic sword that's stupid powerful and can close dimensional rifts." Scarlet decided honesty was the best policy when it came to a crisis like this. The reactions were all over the place. Crimson looked at her as if she'd grown a second head and Red was trying to process the information that included aliens among other things. Ryan and Marian were at least used to weirdness and were putting the pieces together.

"This sword, it's how powerful?' Ryan asked for clarity.

"Strong enough to make a visible from miles away beam of light in the sky to close a giant dimensional rift over the sky of Zootopia and pierce the armor of one of the strongest magic users on Earth," Scarlet summarized the sword's feats.

Red's head shot up, "That's the sword you had on display on the Bunker right?" Scarlet nodded, "I remember it was glowing very lightly when I was there. Do you think it detected Ryan's...machinations all the way back then?"

"It's possible, and if it's been building power for that long then…" Marian started to explain.

"Cut the techno babble!" Crimson shouted, "the sword did it, what happens if the thinner thing overheats?" The tech dummy of the group wanted things back on track as soon as possible.

"It blows up and messes with the bubble," Ryan flicked two fingers up and down to indicate quotation marks around bubble, "and that messes up everyone's ability to get home." No one needed to have it pointed out to them how disastrous that would be. Multiple worlds left without heroes and key authority figures, secret identities all but guaranteed to be exposed, families torn apart, everyone's life would be disrupted beyond repair.

"So let's get down there and fix it!" Scarlet declared as she grabbed Ryan by the wrist and pulled him along, "Come on tech guy."

"Hey," Ryan protested, "I can walk just fine you know."

Sergeant Red scoffed at that remark, "No one trusts you Ryan, get used to it."

"Do we have a plan?" Crimson asked as he followed the others to the elevator.

"Yup," Scarlet confirmed, "go down to the basement and make mister idiot here start fixing his mistakes." Ryan gave a small sigh but no protest.

"Wait," Marian called. She was rummaging around underneath her desk station. When she came back up she was holding two rectangular black box shaped gadgets with thick antenna on top. "Take one of these."

"Are those walkie talkies?" Red asked with amusement.

"Walkie whats?" Crimson gapped.

"Talkies," Ryan answered, "old model hand held radios, last century tech. Nowadays you only see them in antique stores and the cheapest of retail shops." Ryan looked a bit embarrassed at how easily he'd slipped into tech history mode. Unseen by him was Scarlet's amused smile.

"Old or not, they're the only means of communication we have left," Marian said as she handed one walkie talkie to Sergeant Red, "Mage knocked out the coms and you four trashed the speakers." All four siblings had the grace to look embarrassed. "Thankfully I always come prepared."

"It's a consistent trait across dimensions," Red notes, "my Marian keeps these too."

Marian raised an eyebrow when Red referred to her counterpart by name, but shrugged it off. "You'll find little similarities everywhere if you look for them, I'm sure you three have noticed some between yourselves. Now go be heroes." There was a small smile on her face, seeing all four siblings together was special regardless of circumstances. She kept that smile on her face until the doors closed behind the four hybrids. Then she turned back to her station and got to work, starting with a test. "Just making sure this is working, can you hear me now?"

000

_There wasn't enough_, The Mage thought as he stood atop a pillar made of earth. It was at the center of a four sided earth fortress he'd conjured in the middle of the large field. It was roughly in the shape of a rhombus, with the upper corner pointing to the command center. There was a second set of walls within the first that mimicked its shape and served to protect the downed fighters.

_Not enough allies_. Even with the thirty or so combatants on their side; Ryan's force of machines and mammal drones completely outnumbered them, and more were still coming.

_Not enough equipment_. Every tranq the four Bullets had was spent, the various quivers of the archers were nearly empty of useful arrows and the mechs were either low or out of armaments. Even the cards of the Mages were running low.

_Not enough power. _The Mage looked down at Hightower's armor, which was now running on fumes. She'd told him to transfer what she had left to his depleted shield since he was their most important fighter.

_Not enough stamina_. Pyre and Chime were slumped against the inner earth walls, resting after having used their powers nearly nonstop the whole fight. The Mage himself wasn't flying anymore, opting to stand on his pillar instead. He dared not sit down for fear of passing out.

_Not enough, we weren't enough_. The Mage knew he could let them escape with his portals, but that didn't really improve things. They were still low on supplies and Ryan could easily regain the advantage. They needed to win now.

_Robyn, I'm counting on you. _

After the hybrids left, The Mage had called for a retreat to the center of the field and made his earth fortress. It took liberal use of his portals to retrieve the defeated allies and cured opposition, but they were all back together. Those that were still standing anyway.

Sirius, Jack Savage, Agent Kiara, Young Bullet, Kiara Roar, Young Andraste, The Maid, Shadow Bullet, Slash, and Orca were unconscious and lined the inside of the inner walls. Alongside them was the local Roar and Skye. There was also Mustang: the stallion leader of the PMR Lab security, and Vizor, the leader of the Powered Mammal First Responders. They'd hit the former with the cure after The Mage released him from his demon card. The still conscious Trickster and Maiden were seated further away, with Hightower and Yueri keeping them company. Hooded Andraste and Fuli were doing what they could as battlefield medics, the broken bones of Maiden and Trickster required immediate attention. Young Mage was acting as their assistant since his wand was broken. Maiden gave a quiet thank you to her counterpart when she finished making a proper sling for her broken arm. Due to a combination of diminished supplies and the hasty arrival of the reinforcements, no one in the group had any tranquilizer diffuser for some of their downed allies.

There were four openings at the points of the diamond shaped fortress, intended to draw any attackers so they didn't escalate the fight further. Three of the openings were guarded by their mechs: Bella Spitfire faced the command center, the still grounded Olivia Spitfire faced the entrance, and Nightspinner faced the right side of the field. Blade Dancer, Ronin, Skye, Sniper Bullet and The Hood guarded the left entrance. The Hood was armed with the last useful arrows collected from all the quivers and Sniper Bullet still had her rifle and her young counterpart's grenade launcher. They could also easily relocate to help one of the mechs if need be. Prime Bullet sat at the base of The Mage's tower with Aaron in her lap. She was using her pulse to let The Mage know of any notable enemy movements. With The Mage himself atop his pillar to keep a visual eye on the goings on, he felt they'd done the best they could with their dwindling resources. The only mammal without an assigned role was…

"Mind if I join you up their Mage?"

"Sure thing Chief Wilde," the bunny wasted no time leaping up and through the shield to stand with The Mage. It was a reminder to the wolf that Judy was still quite agile in her advancing age, but it also gave him unwelcome thoughts.

Ever since he'd accepted that his defense of Alice during their trap wasn't as secure as he'd thought, he'd occasionally see small parallels or details. One thing was that Alice had been forced to defend herself with the human Ronin had briefly loosened Deadpool's restraint on her. His shield could stop bullets but not slower moving kunai, and mammals could easily slip through. Judy had just demonstrated that.

The Mage knew it was silly to dwell on so pushed those thoughts aside and addressed the Chief, "How are Luna and Alice doing?" He knew where she'd just been.

Judy took a position with her back facing The Mage, "Luna's in a lot of pain, but other Luna had some painkillers on hand so she'll get through it." Mage noticed that Judy still had Alice's sword when she clutched it tightly, "Alice is unharmed, not for lack of trying though." She meant to mutter the last bit but it came out in a more vocally irritated tone.

The Mage sighed deeply. He shared their belief that Alice's arrival was stupidly reckless but wished they'd been able to stay focused on the battle a bit better. "Don't you think you're being a bit ungrateful?" He went for a diversionary tactic.

"Probably," Judy stated, to Mage's surprise, "but if it helps to get that bunny to learn her lesson then I'm okay with being a bit cold."

The Mage couldn't fault Judy's reasoning, though he doubted Robyn had thought the matter out as much. Before he could reply he was interrupted by Prime Bullet, "Mage, something's happening! The mechs all around the building are shutting down!" The Mage and Judy looked around and saw that Bullet was right; the remaining beetle drones were lowering themselves to the ground before shutting off.

"Robyn and the boys did it," Judy looked up towards the command center with pride.

"Good job Scarlet," The Mage shared Judy's sentiment. He raised his voice and called out, "Scarlet, Red and Crimson knocked out the mechs everyone, we're still in this fight!" A chorus of cheers arose from their assembled allies as the end of the battle came within sight.

Not that the opposition was done just yet. "Mage, there's a medium sized mammal heading for that one sniper Scarlet's brother took out a while back," Prime Bullet spoke up, "I think he's going for the sniper rifle."

"Open a portal," Judy said before Mage could answer, "I can handle this." The Mage obliged and Judy was suddenly in front of a male hyena MCB agent taking cover behind the balcony railings. He turned to face Judy just in time to see a flash of blue light before the sword's knockout field claimed another victim.

"Alright, now get back," Mage called, not wanting Judy alone any longer than needed.

Judy ignored him and raced past the portal to the dropped sniper rifle. Scar was still unconscious so no one could stop Judy from using the vibranium edged sword to cleve the rifle in two. The Mage watched as Judy took a few extra seconds to neutralize a threat for good before jumping back through his orange ring and rejoining him. The bunny chief had decades of experience compared to him and the difference showed as he hadn't even thought of taking the rifle out altogether.

_Still have a long way to go_. "Good thinking Chief."

"Thanks," Judy said simply before retaking her back to back stance with the wolf.

"So, in better news related to team drama and Robyn, we finally made up," The Mage wasn't sure what caused him to do the same thing he'd criticized Robyn for earlier, maybe he just didn't want to go back to silence.

Judy's ears perked up, "Really?"

"Yeah, we had a heart to heart and were finally able to put some stuff behind us," The Mage smiled at the happy memory.

Judy's smile on the other hand, was short lived. "Now if only we could have a dozen more talks like that. Not that I think everything can go back to the way things were, I doubt the six of us being absent for as long as we were has done anything to improve things back home."

"It only made things worse," Prime Bullet spoke up from down below, "though Olvia did a decent job with damage control."

"Will it ever end?" Judy sighed.

"Not if we keep waiting around for it to end," Mage spoke resolutely, "we need to address as much of this mess as we can and quickly. We need to hold another meeting."

Judy nodded in agreement, "Get as much on the table as possible and try to sort it out and see where we can go from here."

"Pretty much, but that's for after we finish this mess we're dealing with right now," Mage gestured to the open field.

"Right, but I will say I'm glad you and my daughter made up."

"Thanks Chief."

"Everyone look alive!" Prime Bullet shouted. "They've gotten all the remaining cops and agents together at the front entrance! They're gonna try and zerg rush us!" Bullet's warning concluded just as a massive wave of mammal drones arrived on the field and raced straight for the fort.

"I'm joining the others!" Judy called before leaping over the inner wall and down to the ground. Chime and Pyre pushed themselves to their feet and The Mage closed the path between the inner and outer areas. The wounded and ill equipped were now cut off.

The Mage watched the incoming horde with grim determination before summoning a powerful gust of wind to blow dirt in their faces. "Alright everyone, this is it! Scarlet, Red and Crimson pulled through for us, now we have to make sure we don't put that effort to waste. Not one drone sets foot in this fort, are we clear!?"

A wave of agreements was the last event before the mob of opponents was on top of them.

000

With nothing to do while they waited for the elevator to arrive at the bottom floor, exhaustion set in for all four Wilde siblings. They'd been battered, bruised and broken numerous times throughout the battle, and it was undoubtedly one of the most taxing days any of their steelblood had seen them through.

Robyn dealt with it by keeping a watch on her brothers, not just Ryan. Ronan had taken an at ease posture and was doing some slow breathing. Reginald was leaning against the wall, not concerned with how obvious it was that he needed to catch his breath. Ryan stood in the middle of the three, his face a mixture of shock, shame and sadness. It was obvious to all that he was barely keeping himself together. He looked haggard, was in a slumped over posture, and unlike the other three who at least still had their costumes, Ryan had nothing left on except his tattered pants.

_He's not faking it, I'm sure of it, _Robyn though as they rapidly descended, pausing only for a security clearance before the bottom two floors. While Marian was getting them through that annoyance, Ryan spoke up.

"I'm probably going to be in cuffs after this is over...this is the last chance to speak privately we'll probably ever have so, I'm sorry I dragged you three into all of this, you and all of your friends." He never stopped looking at the floor as he spoke. "And I know how woefully inadequate that is but it's all I have."

"You're right," Ronan scoffed, "that is woefully inadequate, just like your attempts at sympathy."

"I'm not trying to be sympathetic!" Ryan protested, "I'm just telling the truth."

"Wrong again Ryan," Reginald spoke up, "you said all you have is that apology, but you still haven't answered any of our questions."

Ryan looked aghast at being truth bombed to the face, but sadly sighed and composed himself.

"I never hit Mom and Dad with the steelblood, to answer your question Reginald. But that's only because I hadn't found the right excuse yet."

"The right excuse?" Ronan's question was decidedly accusatory.

"That's how I always pushed myself forward, excuses, justifications" Ryan explained, "whenever it came to crossing some line I hadn't yet. Like spreading the steelblood to other worlds being the excuse I came up with for bringing all of you here." Robyn noticed that Ryan had slipped back into his presentation mode she'd seen back out on the field, but it faded as quickly as it came when Ryan's own words caught up with him. "How far would I have been willing to go?"

Robyn, who had spent the last month exploring the 'what if' rabbit hole, knew how depthless that abyss was and stepped in, "Don't focus on the what if's Ryan, focus on things you know the answer too, like my question."

"I knew," Ryan said very quickly, like he was desperate to get it out, "what you said back on the field Robyn, I always knew. Kodi's sacrifice didn't need to happen, he didn't need to die. But if it was preventable, then who was most guilty of inaction? It's me, and no one else. I hated everyone in the days after he died, Robyn, but I hated myself most of all. I didn't care that I was messing with my own brain when I discovered what steelblood could do because it wasn't like a worthwhile mammal was being used as the test subject! And once I had my confidence boost I decided that pain was limiting me, so I shut it off, denied any fault of my own."

"Securities cleared," Marian called over the radio, "you guys are going down."

Ryan ignored his Nana, "Of course that just made me hate the others even more! So I started ensnaring the ones who stayed with me!" Ryan's anger dissipated into sadness, "Nana, Luna, Glor...i...OH SHIT!" Ryan cried just as the doors opened to the bottom floor.

The doors opened and Ryan rushed forward with the others right behind him. The floor was actually one massive room, about half the length of the nearly 200 yard long building. Ryan led the group through an observation deck area and down a further flight of stairs before arriving at the large base floor leading to the dimensional thinner. It was a large machine, the entire back half of the room was dedicated to wiring and maintenance pathways for it. A series of control panels lined a station at its base, making it clear that operating the machine was a job for multiple mammals. The machines themselves were lined with heavy metal designed to withstand heavy abuse and damage. This was no sleek space age wonderland, it looked like a high tech military bunker. This served to make the sole occupant of the room stand out even more than she already did.

"Ryan what the blazes is going on!?" Miss Fantabulous shouted as the four approached. The pink clad hippo stood guarding the lab's most important machine. Sweet poured down her face and a panicked look replaced her normal joviality.

"Gloria," Ryan muttered. Here was a mammal who had tried to reach out a comforting hand to him, a mammal who actually understood him, having her kindness repaid with such cruelty. Guilt overwhelmed the hybrid and he briefly zoned out.

"Something in the battle up on the field overloaded the dimension thinner," Robyn gave a clip notes summary, "it's gonna explode!"

"Yeah I gathered that much!" Miss Fantabulous stated, "but why are you three all together? Don't tell me…"

Ronan cut her off, "We beat him, this fool used his mind altering steelblood on himself and now he's…"

Ronan's sentence was cut short when Ryan lunged forward and forced his mouth shut, "Quite Ronan." Ryan's voice was now a hushed command. They were still far enough away from Miss Fantabulous that she didn't hear him.

Ronan shoved the hand aside in annoyance, "You can't handle having the truth told to more mammals?"

"No, Gloria is programmed to guard the dimensional thinner from any threat and if she finds out I've been altered she might see me as one!" Ryan continued to keep his voice low. Ronan's eyes widened in horror as he realized he may have blown their easiest fix to the problem.

"Now what?" Reginald asked in exasperation.

Ryan stepped forward, "I try and fix this, stay back everyone. She'll definitely attack any of you." Everyone, including Miss Fantabulous, held their breath as Ryan calmly approached the massive hippo. "The thinner is overheating. That means it's a threat to itself now, so we just need to engage the cooling systems and turn it off," Ryan tried to explain, hoping that he could out logic his own mind altering steelblood.

"Ryan," Miss Fantabulous muttered in confusion.

"The machine is all that matters Gloria," Ryan spoke in a manner akin to his steelblood altered persona, "disregard anything else."

Silence dominated the room, save for a brief whirl from the dimensional thinner, as Ryan reached Miss Fantabulous' side. Robyn watched the hippo's nervous face closely, which meant she the moment where her expression shifted to blank.

"Ryan watch out!" Robyn's warning came too late. Ryan started to move before the call was finished, but Miss Fantabulous caught him with a stomp. Ryan's leg snapped into pieces and the hippo's subsequent kick sent him past his siblings and into the staircase. The metal stairs buckled somewhat, but Ryan's body gave more and the siblings were treated to the horrifying sound of many bones breaking at once. They turned to face the world's strongest hero, but she maintained her position and her face shifted back to it's natural expression.

Miss Fantabulous gasped in shock at the state Ryan was in and knew she was the cause. She also knew that if the three siblings were all there was to get past her, then the Powered Mammal Research Labs was doomed for a second time.

"Take Ryan and get everyone to evacuate the building," Miss Fantabulous ordered, "you three can't beat me!"

The three siblings shared a silent exchange of looks before turning back to their final opponent. "Most of Ryan's victims are still under his trawl, and there's a security protocol on them so they can't be altered for a time," Ronan explained as he put his helmet on.

"Our friends are still fighting, and there's way too many mammals unconscious to carry out," Reginald added as he pulled up his hood.

"So we've got no choice here," Robyn finished as she, and her siblings, pulled up their scarves to complete their suit up. "We're getting past you and then we're going home."

The Undying Scarlet, Sergeant Red and the Crimson Banshee stood united. Miss Fantabulous felt her eyes watering up at the display. "I always loved little ones like you, that spark of goodness that could turn the worst day around. Alright then, I don't see how you're gonna do it, but let's see the heroes pull out another miracle."

No one spoke another word as the three heroes closed in.

It was a complete mismatch.

The three had been unable to overpower Ryan in his survival mode state, and Robyn's version of said state was restrained by Roar. Here was a foe who could overpower Roar and lacked his weak spot. They'd already been through a whole battle while Miss Fantabulous was fresh and ready.

They opened with a three pronged attack. Crimson leapt at her head, Red went for a kick to the gut on her left side and Scarlet tried to sweep her right leg out from under her. The hippo swatted Crimson from the air and hip checked Red away with ease. Scarlet's sweep did inch Miss Fantabulous' leg a bit, but moments later she retaliated with a kick that flung Scarlet away.

As hard as the three tried they were unable to make any meaningful progress against the powered hippo. Their attacks could move her, but they hardly hurt. Meanwhile one good hit could take any of the three of them out for a time even with the steelblood healing, and that would also negate the numbers advantage they held.

One particularly nasty chop nearly tore Scarlet in half at the gut, and she was unable to pull herself off the ground while she healed. Miss Fantabulous seized the chance and zeroed in on the less agile Sergeant Red. She unleashed a series of powerful punches and sweeps that the young hybrid struggled to dodge, and she was quickly wiping out his escape options.

Her hyper focus on Red did leave Crimson free reign to counter attack, and he chose an aerial move he'd see Scarlet use back in the command center. Just as Red was pinned to a wall, Crimson jumped up to the ceiling and leapt off of it for a downward double fist slam. The force of an elephant with metal plated gloves met Miss Fantabulous' head, and the force of impact combined with her leaning forward sent her to the ground. Red dodged to the side and Crimson quickly jumped away. Scarlet finished healing and rejoined the two.

Miss Fantabulous steadily made her way to her feet, none the worse for wear. Meanwhile the two brothers had spent a lot of energy just staying in the fight.

Minutes ticked by and the three were rapidly running out of steam. Even worse, actively fighting Miss Fantabulous caused her to expand her area of aggression. She was actively pursuing them even when they retreated back towards the entrance.

It was during the retreat that Sergeant Red was tangled in metal from a damaged railing, the end result of one of Miss Fantabulous sweeping arms. Crimson tried to come to his brother's aid, but that left both right in Miss Fantabulous' sights.

Scarlet saw what was about to happen and put everything she had into a leaping tackle to intercept the attack. They collided and Scarlet's angle of attack was just enough to send them both crashing to the ground. They tumbled down a flight of stairs and Miss Fantabulous' weight carried her further, resulting in them ending up roughly back where the fight started.

_It's no use_, Scarlet realized. Miss Fantabulous was already getting back on her feet to resume the fight, Scarlet struggled to do the same.

"Dammit, can't stop," Scarlet muttered to herself in defiance. She might have been able to dodge the hippo's charge if she wasn't distracted at that moment. She'd landed at the base of the staircase, and there was already an indent in the metal. A dent whose creator was missing. "Ryan?"

"Robyn dodge!" Crimson screamed. Scarlet had no way to do so, so she grabbed her staff and decided to at least try and poke one of the hippo's eyes before she went down.

"Dynamic entrance!" A flash and a bang went off just before Miss Fantabulous made contact, and a split second later a figure clad in red and white delivered a kick to the hippo's head. She stumbled away and left Scarlet a clear view of her rescuer.

He wore dark red long pants, a white long sleeve shirt and a sleeveless red jacket that went down to his knees. His belt and arms guards were loaded with trinkets and gadgets to throw his opponents off. His hybrid ears were hidden under a large red hat and, like his siblings, he wore a scarf to hide his distinctive snout. The outfit brought to mind a stage performer, a fitting choice for someone who always kept a mask up. Ryan Wilde: Ruby Rose.

"Ryan!" Scarlet gapped. Crimson and Red carried similar surprised looks.

"Ruby Rose right now Miss Ninja, and right now we've got a big problem to deal with." Ruby turned to face Miss Fantabulous. "Can't say mind control is a good look for you Gloria, makes you look all stiff." Miss Fantabulous' response was to charge forward. "And those on the floor are taser cards," Ruby smirked as Miss Fantabulous walked into his trap. A surge of electricity surged through her body. "Go for the eyes!"

Red and Crimson obliged and leapt on the stunned hippo. Crimson used his steel plated gloves while Red opted to use the butt of his pistol. Miss Fantabulous swatted the two pests off a few moments later, but the damage was done. The hippo could barely see.

"Good move, but we still can barely hurt her," Sergeant Red observed.

"And I doubt we want to pull another electric trap tactic right text to the dimension whatever," Crimson added.

"There's a plan in play folks," Ryan reassured the trio, "we just need to stall for a few minutes while The Mage does his part."

They had no time to question which Mage Ryan was referring to. Miss Fantabulous was on the attack again and the four were back in the fight. Ryan, the relatively fresh fighter, did his best to keep the hippo's attention on him. He knew that electric attacks were one of the only ways around Miss Fantabulous' defenses, and while his taser cards weren't the most powerful of shocks, they were at least slowing the juggernaut down.

The addition of an extra fighter helped the hybrids somewhat in keeping the hippo off her feet, as did her reduced vision. Ruby would use one of his cards: tasers, flashbangs and snares among them, to stagger Miss Fantabulous. After which one or more of the other heroes would strike at the head or legs to knock her down. Their best tactics succeeded at slowing her down, only impeding but not stopping. But with the need to stall for time, that would have to do.

Finally a beep came from Ruby's belt. He wasted no time and hurled a flashbang card at Miss Fantabulous before turning to jump back to where he'd stored his secret weapon. He'd barely left the ground when a massive force slammed him back into it, Ruby bounced once before coming to a painful stop. Miss Fantabulous had read his move and charged through the bang to tackle the escaping hybrid. The only reason her attack was so erratic was because she had to close her eyes to avoid the flash. The hippo recovered first and pinned Ruby to the ground with one hand, needing no effort to restrain the flailing hero. She snapped her body to the side and her other fist smashed into Crimson's side when he tried to punch the back of her head. The blow sent The Crimson Banshee far away from the others and into a wall, he slumped to the ground and didn't get up.

"Red, Scarlet!" Ruby called, "it's up by the elevator!" Miss Fantabulous' head shot in the direction of the platform.

"Go go go!" Red shouted at Scarlet. The two jumped up and away from the hippo, Red taking a separate route so she could only pursue one at a time.

With one hand still tightly secured around Ruby's torso, Miss Fantabulous leapt after the two. Normally the two hybrids could've made it to the elevator in one leap if they needed to, but they were exhausted and could only manage to reach the observation deck. Red had started before Scarlet and was able to make the next jump before Mis Fantabulous landed on the deck, but Scarlet was still bending her knees for the jump. The resulting shock from the heavy animal landing caused Scarlet to stumble to the ground and she figured that was it for her. Miss Fantabulous instead opted to jump after Red, and though her vision was still blurry, she was able to swat the defenseless hybrid out of the sky.

Red was still conscious after his landing and tried to roll away from the elevator. The massive hippo again staggered her opponent with the shock of her landing and Red fell to the floor, no longer able to stay on his feet. He may have been able to heal off any damage, but the sheer exhaustion of the battle had finally caught up with him.

His distraction had worked however. Scarlet was free to make the final jump to the elevator and grab Ruby's secret weapon. She was all that was left against an unbeatable guard with the lives of many on the line. All urgency left her when she saw what it was. Inside an open case left at the foot of the elevator was a wand, The Mage's wand. The fallen Mage of Ruby's world.

_We just need to stall for a few minutes while The Mage does his part._

"Oh Ryan," Scarlet muttered.

Her distraction was nearly fatal to everyone. Miss Fantabulous leapt from Red's side towards the elevator. Scarlet barely had time to snatch the wand and jump up before Miss Fantabulous arrived.

In a single fluid motion, Scarlet was grabbed by the throat, halting her escape a few feet from the ground. The hippo began applying immense pressure on Scarlet's throat.

But Scarlet's hand, and the wand, were still free. A few years back Kodi and Olivia had insisted that everyone know how to use the wand in case it was separated from its user. Those lessons bore fruit as Scarlet had begun readying the wand as she jumped. She focused all her remaining energy on keeping the metal staff pointed at the hippo, and it activated just as Scarlet began to black out.

"Be a drone!" Was the last thing she heard before her unconscious body dropped to the floor.

000

"Tundra!" Ruby shouted, completing the release sequence for Miss Fantabulous. The hippo came to and was met with the sight of Ruby Rose. He was crouched over his sister's body, checking to see if she was unconscious. "Come on Robyn we're not done yet," he pleaded even as it became clear she'd been knocked out.

"Ryan?" Miss Fantabulous asked, "what is, how did you?" Absolute confusion mixed with horror was plastered on the hippo's face.

"Beat you," Ruby stood up and faced the friend he'd betrayed, "we didn't, we just got around the steelblood." He picked up the wand, "With this."

Miss Fantabulous' confusion only intensified, "Mage's wand? I thought steelblood couldn't be hacked."

"It can't," the tiniest bit of smugness crept onto Ruby's face, "but a digital clock can be."

It took Miss Fantabulous a few moments to figure it out, "You hacked the central computer and bumped the clocks up!" Despite everything, her lips curled upwards in a small smile, having witnessed the miracle she'd asked the four to pull off.

"Fooling the steelblood into thinking an hour had passed since Robyn's Kodi severed the tie," Ruby finished the explanation.

Sirens blared, cutting off further discussion. A digital voice announced: _Alert, dimensional thinner overload imminent. Estimated time till detonated is five minutes._

Ruby went stiff, his breath caught in his throat and his eyes shot around in panic, "No, not again, not again." Images of TNTiger's bombs poured through Ruby's mind. "Not again!"

Miss Fantabulous bopped him in the cheek, though with her strength it was more like a slap, "Get your head in the game Ryan! You're the only one who can stop it from happening again!"

Ruby took a moment to absorb Miss Fantabulous' words before slowly nodding. He gently placed his friend's wand back in the box before saying, "Not again." Ruby Rose leapt to the base of the stairs and retrieved the walkie talkie Red had set down for safekeeping. "Nana? Are you still there?" He asked as he raced to the control panels.

"Am I still...where have you been!?" The frantic vixen called from the other side.

"Gloria was guarding the dimensional thinner, she's free now," Ruby explained.

"Gloria! How did...nevermind it's not important," Marain rattled off, "I've pulled up the blueprints for the thinner."

"Good, look up ways we can cool the machine down. Whatever Robyn did earlier must have disabled the automatic shutdown."

"I disabled electricity flowing into it, but you had it in use so much recently that it already has a lot of energy built up," Marian informed.

"At least it's not getting anymore," Ruby sighed.

_Alert, dimensional thinner overload imminent. Estimated time till detonated is four minutes._

"Ryan tell me you have a plan!" Miss Fantabulous shouted as she arrived at the control panel.

"Marian I'm giving the walkie to Miss Fantabulous," Ruby said as he did just that, "talk her through activating the manual cooldown."

The thinner had an internal cooling system of course, but that was mostly offline or damaged. So Marian began talking Miss Fantabulous through the process of activating the alternative; a series of tubes that could be applied at multiple points of the machine. When attached they blasted cold air out in an effort to cool the machine down. As a backup system, it had been turned off at the time of Excalibur's pulse and was thus unaffected.

"Alright Marian I'm here, now what?" Miss Fantabulous asked.

"The tubes have locks on them," Miss Fantabulous saw there were indeed digital locks with twelve piece keypads attached, "I've got the codes."

Miss Fantabulous looked down at the keypad, it was clearly meant for a mammal a mere fraction of her size, "No time!" She went to rip one of the locks off.

"Wait they're..." Marian was cut off by the sound of crunching metal. On her screen she saw that some of the tubes had locked down, "coded to lock down if not activated properly."

"Well what am I supposed to do?" Miss Fantabulous threw up her arms, "my fingertips are half the size of the whole pad!

"You need smaller fingers?" a groggy voice called. Miss Fantabulous turned to see The Crimson Banshee walking up to her. The ghostly hero was still nursing a headache but was on his feet again.

"Passing the mic," Miss Fantabulous said before handing the walkie talkie to the smaller mammal.

Marian gave out the six digit unlock code and the tube activated, but immediately thereafter the alarm sounded again.

_Alert, dimensional thinner overload imminent. Estimated time till detonated is three minutes._

"Marian!" An urgent voice called. Sergeant Red had recovered and joined the two at the tubes, "start calling the codes out, we're running out of time!"

Marian guided the two hybrids towards working on unlocking the other tubes, Red keeping his hand on the talk button so she could just shout the numbers out. Miss Fantabulous took the first tube towards the machine, easily able to lift the heavy machinery with her strength.

"Gloria! Attach the tube right behind the central projector. Robyn, there's repair supplies at the base of the stairs. Ronan, Reginald, start helping Gloria with the tubes after they're all unlocked!" Ryan directed the group's efforts from the control panel, where he was at work turning off as much of the machine as he could.

Miss Fantabulous sparred a look back and saw that Scarlet had indeed awoken and was making her way to the others. She arrived at the central disk and lined the tube up with the machinery on the right side. There were various docking points for exactly this purpose. The tube kicked in and cool air started to flow into the machine.

"Robyn?" Ruby sparred a look away from his screen to address his sister, "do you know how to fix an air conditioner?"

"Is it like the ones you'd find in a car?" Scarlet asked as she grabbed the tool kit.

"Close enough," Ruby confirmed.

"Then I can manage," Scarlet grinned, "where is it?"

"Nearest ones right behind and on top of the central station." Scarlet was off the moment Ruby finished speaking.

_Alert, dimensional thinner overload imminent. Estimated time till detonated is two minutes._

Ruby continued to rapidly work the keyboard, trying to regain control of the overheating machine while hoping Scarlet would pull through. The cooling tubes were intended to support an overworked cooling system, not to replace it. Scarlet and he were the only ones with any mechanical knowledge and he was the only one who knew how the machine worked.

At this point it was a race against time, Scarlet had found the first cooling station only slightly damaged and was able to patch it up, but that still took her nearly a full minute. The others got as many tubes to the machine as they could, six in total, but Ruby knew it wasn't enough.

_Alert, dimensional thinner overload imminent. Estimated time till detonated is sixty seconds._

"We failed," Ruby moaned. His head tilted down in defeat, he missed the ring of orange light opening above the machine.

Scarlet looked to her side to see The Mage float down, snow flurries and ice crystals coated his jacket and fur. He nodded in her direction before shouting, "Brace yourselves everyone, it's gonna get cold!"

The portal opened in full and the howling winds of Tundra Town's coldest region poured into the lab. The biting cold stunned everyone briefly, but the desired effect was shown almost immediately.

_Alert, dimensional thinner overload imminent. Estimated time till detonated is three minutes._

"It's working!" Crimson cheered.

"Don't stop," Ruby warned, "the machine is still in the danger zone."

Everyone kept working. The Mage joined Scarlet in getting the internal cooling systems working, they tossed around tools and traded dialogue like it was a busy day at their auto garage. The others got the last of the tubes attached and Ruby diverted as much power as he could to the repaired cooling systems.

It wasn't enough.

_Alert, dimensional thinner overload imminent. Estimated time till detonated is two minutes._

"Damn it, is there anything else we can do?" Miss Fantabulous screamed.

"Is Clara awake!?" Scarlet asked The Mage.

The Mage was about to answer, but then quickly summoned another portal back to the main field to check for sure.

"What's that poor gal got to do with this?" Miss Fantabulous asked.

"She can drain electric energy like she's a big battery," Scarlet explained.

"She's still out," The Mage sighed.

"Like a...I am an idiot!" Ruby shouted before rapidly typing away at his keyboard. To the shock of everyone else present; the dimensional thinner activated.

"Ryan what are you doing!?" Sergeant Red demanded.

"Nana disconnected the electricity flowing into this thing, leaving only the stored power it had built up, so it's essentially a giant battery right now," Ruby kept typing rapidly, "and the most common way to drain a battery is to use it!" The dimensional thinner started heating up even more, forcing Scarlet and The Mage to leave their repairs, but Ruby could see that more power was being used up then before.

_Alert, dimensional thinner overload imminent. Estimated time till detonated is sixty seconds._

"We're down to the wire," The Mage said as he landed behind Ruby, "if worse comes to worse I'll pull the portal down and let it go off in The Tundratown wastes."

Ruby didn't acknowledge The Mage's statement, he didn't turn to look either. He knew that if he did then he wouldn't be able to get back in the zone. It was one thing to see Kodi through someone else's eyes or from a distance, quite another to be face to face with him.

A pulse of energy came from the central disk.

"One down," Ruby muttered.

The siblings and Miss Fantabulous gathered behind Ruby. "One what Ryan?" Crimson asked.

"One use," Marian answered from over the walkie talkie, "it takes a lot of power for the dimensional thinner to operate and he just connected us to another world."

_Alert, dimensional thinner overload imminent. Estimated time till detonated is thirty seconds._

A second pulse emerged. The machine shuddered and the sound of small explosions was heard. "Two down!"

"Mage get your portal ready!" Red shouted, not having faith that the machine would be safe in a mere thirty seconds.

"You can do it Ryan," Miss Fantabulous encouraged.

_Alert, dimensional thinner overload imminent. Estimated time till detonated is fifteen seconds._

"Shut!" Ruby shouted as he pressed the final key, "down!"

A third pulse swept by the group as the dimensional thinner seemed to finally run out of energy. The sound of running machinery and the internal cooling systems went away, leaving only the back up cooling tubes running.

"Did it work?" Crimson nervously asked.

"It worked!" Marian cheered over the walkie talkie. "Dimensional thinner is shutting down!"

"Thank goodness," Miss Fantabulous sighed.

"It's over," Sergeant Red declared. Up above, The Mage closed his portal.

An atmosphere of joy and relief overcame the room, but Scarlet noticed one mammal was not joining the celebrations. "Ryan, what's wro…"

"Get down!" Ruby screamed. A fourth, and far stronger, pulse of energy came from the dimensional thinner as it finally shut down completely. The mammals on the ground were blown to the ground bar Miss Fantabulous, who still stumbled back a lot. The Mage was still in the air and was thrown into the ceiling before he could raise a defense. He left a small impact crater and fell away unconscious.

Miss Fantabulous leapt backwards and caught The Mage, the momentum of the jump carrying them all the way to the elevator. The four siblings were not so lucky.

The horrific sound of a collapsing building sounded in Miss Fantabulous' ears. She turned and saw the floor at the base of the dimensional thinner give way. All the way past the stairs and to the observation deck the floor buckled in and a crater about half a story deep formed. The four hybrids were too exhausted to recover before the ceiling gave way and a torrent of dirt and debris buried them.

It was over in less than a minute. Miss Fantabulous set the unconscious Mage down and took in the sight. The entire path to the dimensional thinner was filled with dirt and building parts.

000

Robyn Wilde has never been keen to know if her healing could protect her from being crushed to death. In the moments before the debris buried her siblings and her, Robyn thought she was about to find out. She closed her eyes, if only to keep dust out of them, and awaited her fate.

_We did it guys, we saved everyone._

A force from above pushed Robyn to the ground and everything went dark.

Robyn stayed still, but the expected pain never came. She definitely felt debris hitting her though. Maybe she was numb to lesser pains after everything she'd been hit with recently, but Robyn knew something was up after half a minute of feeling nothing.

"Everyone, _cough_, okay?" Reginald's voice emerged from the darkness.

"More or less," Ronan groaned, "legs pinned under something."

"That's three, Robyn are you still there?" Ryan called.

"Can't see a thing, otherwise I'm fine," Robyn replied.

"Why are we not crushed?" Reginald asked, "not that I'm complaining."

"Debris must have fallen in such a way as to create a pocket," Ronan said hurriedly, "seen it when we were rescuing people from some of Phelps' attacks. Now can someone please give me some light? I need to see what's got my leg."

"I have some flash cards," Ryan spoke up.

"Better if I use the flashlight app," Robyn said.

"It survived the battle!?" Reginald gapped.

"Protective casing, Olivia's invention," Robyn explained while she pulled out her phone and activated its light. The ray illuminated the small pocket the four shared, and revealed Ronan's leg was pinned under a large piece of floor debris that was helping to form their delicate roof. Other components included some unidentifiable chunks of building and a slab of metal behind Ryan.

"Can we do...anything for him?" Reginald asked, looking at Ronan's leg.

"I've got it," Ronan grunted. Ignoring the pain, the young hybrid carefully lined his hand up to do a jab into the ground right below hsi pinned leg. After a minute of repeating this motion he'd made enough of a dent in the ground that he was able to slide his leg out. "Like I said, not my first time being buried."

Ryan leaned back, "then it's over," he said with a sad sigh.

"Over?" Ronan asked, "what about getting us back home? The machine was buried!"

"This building collapsed once before, last century," Ryan explained, "as part of the reconstruction they added a lot of safety features in case anything like that happened again."

"That shell around the machine protected it right?" Robyn asked, having actually climbed up on it.

"Right," Ryan agreed, "and even if it can't operate right now, i already took care of everything we needed it for."

Reginald spoke up after a moment, "the three pulses were for our home dimensions!"

"Bingo Reginald," Ryan gave his brother a small smile, "all we have to do is wait for Robyn's Mage to wake up and he can portal us out of here. One mirror later and she sends everyone home."

"What about your world?" Robyn asked, knowing it wasn't over.

"I quietly get shipped off to jail and there's a cover up," Ryan sighed, "the battle took place in the Powered Mammal Research Labs, they'll think of something."

"I feel bad just leaving things when they're such a mess," Ronan sighed.

Ryan gave a brief snort, "Oh yes, because everyone's gonna complain that you haven't done enough already."

Silence hung in the air for a time after that, all four knew it was just a waiting game at this point. Reginald lazily leaned back against a somewhat flat piece of debris. Ronan took a meditation pose and Ryan buried his head in his arms and knees. Robyn sat with her arms folded and a contemplative look on her face.

_Somethings' still missing_, Robyn though.

On one hand, everything seemed to line up. Ryan's preexisting confidence issues mixed with the potentially preventable death of Kodi threw him into a depressed state. He buried himself in his work and came upon the steelblood upgrades. Small changes built upon each other until he was transformed into a complete monster. All the details seemed to line up.

And yet…

"Do you think any of our friends got seriously hurt in the battle?" Reginald asked out of the blue, interrupting Robyn's thoughts.

"Luna, Robyn's Luna, got a broken arm," Ronan recalled, "and Regina was blasted pretty hard by that giant mech. Other than that, just some bad bruising. I suspect Ryan's drones weren't allowed to do worse than that."

Ryan looked up and gave a small nod in confirmation.

Ronan returned the nod, "so the only one who was ever in any real danger of dying was Clara, since she knocked herself out with that energy burst."

Reginald accepted that answer and leaned back down, but Robyn's eyes were fixed on the shocked look on Ryan's face when he heard that last bit of Ronan's recount.

_That's it_, Robyn addressed Ryan directly, "Why do you hate Clara?"

Robyn's question got a mixture of reactions. Reginald sat up again in confusion, Ronan had a look of surprise followed by contemplation, but Ryan's look was pure fear.

Robyn knew she'd found the missing thread and didn't let up, "you hate your Clara enough that you pulled a completely needless mind game with my Clara just for...I don't know. Revenge by...er?"

"Proxy," Ronan filled in.

"Yeah that," Robyn continued, "none of your friends, not even Luna, knew why you would do that."

Ryan shut his eyes tightly for a few moments before letting out a sigh, "I was, am, jealous no, envious of her."

"Jealous?" Robyn hadn't been expecting that answer, "she didn't do anything to you?"

"No," Ryan sighed after a moment, "even if it felt like it."

"But why?" Robyn pressed.

Ryan didn't meet her gaze, instead staring down at his feet. "Is it because she's confident and gorgeous and you're timid and uh…" Reginald paused his question, "well okay looking, I guess. I don't really know that very well."

"No," Ryan muttered weakly while Ronan shot Reginald an annoyed look.

"Is it because of how smart she is?" Ronan asked, "your friends are certainly of the opinion that you sell yourself short in that department."

"No," Ryan's eyes were starting to water.

"Then what!?" Robyn demanded.

Instead of answering the question, Ryan slammed one of his fists into the metal plate behind him. At the startled calls of alarm from the others, he looked up and saw his own warped reflection in the metal. He went back to burying his head in his knees and quietly sobbed, but choked out his response, "She, she had the one thing I wanted more than anything else in the world."

Ronan and Reginald didn't know what to make of Ryan's response, but Robyn had put it together before he even spoke up.

_You'll find little similarities everywhere if you look for them, I'm sure you three have noticed some between yourselves._

Robyn recognized the look of sadness on Ryan's face. The look of longing for something, or someone. It was a look she'd seen herself sport in the reflection of metal cafeteria equipment over half a decade ago. She wordlessly crawled forward and bridged the gap between her and Ryan. One hand took Ryan's hand to get his attention, the soft grip causing him to look up ever so slightly. It was enough for Robyn's other hand to cup his chin and lift his head up the rest of the way. The look Ryan saw on Robyn's face wasn't the determined look she'd sported for much of the battle, nor the angry inquisitive look she'd had moments ago. It was a look of sadness mixed with sympathy. Ryan knew that Robyn had figured it out.

'You loved him," Robyn stated. It was not a question. "You're bi like me." Reginald looked stunned and Ronan mentally tried to catch up to where Robyn was at, but she wasn't concerned with them. Even with someone who he knew was like him, Ryan was still silent with fear. "It's okay," Robyn reassured, "no one here is going to judge you."

Ryan clenched his eyes shut to try and block out the world, but he felt Robyn's hand leave his chin and hand. Both hands came to rest gently on his shoulders, and Robyn pushed no further. After several moments of tears and nerves rocking his body, Ryan finally gave a single, firm nod.

"But," Reginald stuttered, "Kodi's the single most she wolf happy mammal ever." The implications were as simple as they were sad. Where as Robyn had fallen for a childhood friend who turned out to be a lesbian, Ryan had fallen for a childhood friend who was completely straight.

"Love, doesn't really care about things like that Reginald," Ronan sighed as the final piece of the puzzle fell into place for him as well.

"But Luna never mentioned Ryan being bi! None of them did, and Luna and Alice are married here," Regianld threw his hands up. "Did anyone know?"

"Kodi did," Robyn sighed, realizing what Kodi's final, interrupted message before his death had been about. "He wanted Ryan to find true love of his own someday."

"Even after I put him in such a weird spot," Ryan finally spoke through his tears, "after he promised to keep it a secret, after everything I've ever done, being so difficult to work with, he still never stopped looking out for me. How was i ever supposed to move on from that!?" Ryan's sobbing reached new heights as the full grief everything that had happened came down. "And what do I do in his honor? I turn myself into a deluded psychopath trying to control everything!"

That was enough for Robyn. She pulled Ryan into a warm embrace and laid his head on shoulder, at long last giving him a shoulder to cry on. "We can be our own worst enemies Ryan. Believe me, all three of us know." Ryan tucked his arms around Robyn and let it all out. The moment was only interrupted when Reginald knelt down behind Robyn and put a hand on Ryan's, still holding Robyn's back. A few moments later, Ronan joined them as well. Though still looking somewhat apprehensive, Ronan placed a hand on Ryan's shoulder.

They stayed like that until Ryan's tears ran dry, and eventually they started talking. Not about anything serious or relevant, but about memories. Memories of their early days as superheroes, of what funny antics they'd gotten up to with Hannah and Kodi. Though his eyes remained bloodshot, Ryan even managed to crack a smile once or twice. Then they talked about their lives, careers, family and anything else they could think of.

It was only the appearance of a small orange circle that ended the talk, the last time the four would ever be alone together. Ronan and Reginald led the way back to the center field, Ryan paused to nervously look back at Robyn, but a smile and a nod got him to walk forward too.

000

_1 Year Ago, Ryan's World_

"So I'm not saying you have to do anything with it, but that otter dude was absolutely eyeing you back there," Kodi Jones, The Mage said to Ruby Rose with a cheeky grin.

The two were seated atop a tall building looking down at the store robbery they'd just foiled. They were waiting for Blade Dancer to join them for their nightly patrol, but they'd seen the robbery and leapt into action.

"Kodi please," Ryan sighed, "he's into Ruby Rose, not Ryan Wilde."

"They're the same person bro," Kodi insisted.

"No, Ruby is a mask I wear when I'm playing hero," Ryan countered.

"No, Ryan Wilde, you are a hero, and you wouldn't be able to be so good at it if you were faking it!"

"Oh really? Did you know that part of the reason I started being Ruby in the first place is because I was hoping to impress you?" Ryan admitted.

Kodi saw right through the partial lie, "that may have been on your mind Ry, but you said we should be heroes when you saw all the injustices going on after the wave. Your Mom was always about heroes getting to come back and you saw the opportunity. I was on the back of your mind at best."

Ryan sighed in defeat, "Your right, I just...wish I could be more like Ruby without the mask."

"Your getting there," Kodi smiled, "you worked up the courage to confess to me, and you have been getting better at standing up for yourself lately." Kodi put a hand on Ryan's shoulder, "you may have worn that mask as a facade, but you're becoming it more and more."

"I agree," a new voice called. Both mammals turned to see that Blade Dancer had joined them.

"How much did you hear?" Ryan asked nervously.

"Just the last bit," Alice replied, "but Kodi is correct, I started wearing this mask to help distinguish between my days as that beast Ronin and the hero I wish to be now. But overtime, the calmer more refined warrior became who I was. And while we may not know each other as long as you and Kodi have, I can promise you that the Ryan I know now is much more then the child i met years ago."

Ryan smiled, a real smile, "thanks you two. I'll, I'll try to keep getting better."

"We know you will," Alice replied, "now come, we have a whole patrol to go on and you two already have a leg up on me!" Blade Dancer leapt across a gap to get to the next building.

"She's right, I'll get to the Shooting Star," The Mage said. Before he left, he knelt down and met Ryan's eyes, "You'll find someone who loves you for both Ryan and Ruby someday. I promise." Then he was off, racing down a fire escape to his trusty vehicle.

_But they won't be you._ Ruby Rose thought as he leapt into the air, ready to protect the city of Zootopia for another night.

AN: And so the battle finally ends, as well as the mysteries surrounding Ryan. This was more a reveal then an actual twist, as it does not affect the plot, but I don't think anyone caught onto to this one if the reviews are anything to go by.

Next Time: Ryan faces the consequences of his actions and the heroes of four worlds get one chance to interact before heading home.


End file.
